


Irresistible

by aroseofstone (Adams1422)



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Student/Teacher, F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-14
Updated: 2017-07-10
Packaged: 2018-04-14 16:03:39
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 27,473
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4570722
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Adams1422/pseuds/aroseofstone
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rose ends up on a date with Doctor James Noble when her boyfriend stands her up  one too many times. A student/professor AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here it is! My next multi chapter project!! A huge thank you to tenscupcake! As usual, this wouldn’t exist without her. Thank you bae!!

Rose Tyler has been in this damn restaurant for an hour now.

_Fifteen more minutes,_ she tells herself, _and I’m out of this stupid place._

To be fair, Lancaster’s isn’t stupid. It’s her favorite restaurant in town. It’s the place she and her mum always come when she makes it down to visit, because they have the best chips in the universe. Honestly, she’s never had a bad meal here, not even one bad memory. Until today, that is.

Jimmy promised he would never stand her up for a date again, not after the last two times in a row. She doesn’t care how fit he is, no one is worth being stood up three times.

She supposes it’s possible he’s just late. The traffic is awful out at this time of day. _Thirty more minutes then,_ she thinks, avoiding eye contact with the waitress, Kathy, who keeps giving her that look. The one they give those pathetic people who get stood up but stick around, hoping. It’s a look she’s very familiar with by now.

There is no way he’d stand her up again. Right? No decent human being stands their girlfriend up this many times. No, he’ll be here. Of course he will.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

The server comes back in twenty minutes.

“You ready to order yet, love?” she asks, entirely too gentle for Rose’s already wounded sense of pride.

“A few more minutes,” Rose says, just managing to meet her eyes and keep her voice from wavering. Kathy gives Rose a soft, pitying smile and a nod before backing away.

Everyone around Rose keeps sneaking glances at her now. Knowing glances, full of pity. She hates them, but she finds it in herself to keep from putting her head down on her arms and having a good cry right here in the middle of her favorite restaurant.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Ten more minutes and Rose is almost ready to get her purse and walk out.

_I said thirty minutes. It’s been thirty minutes. That_ wanker _is an hour and a half late._

She’s working herself up into an absolute rage when Kathy returns with her pity and her pitcher of water. She doesn’t even ask if Rose wants to order this time, she just reaches out to fill her empty glass for the fourth time.

Just as Rose is lifting her hand to tell Kathy not to bother, that she’s going home anyway, a lanky bloke slides into the seat across from her. He smoothly takes her hand and places a kiss on it.

“I’m sorry I’m so late, love, I got caught up and work and the traffic is terrible out,” he says, loud enough for everyone in Lancaster’s to hear. His dark brown eyes seem genuinely apologetic. He lets her hand go and gives Kathy a bright, disarming grin. Kathy beams back at him, filling his glass with water and rushing off to give them some privacy. Rose doesn’t miss the relieved smile she shoots over at them.

She focuses back on the man across from her, face drawn up in confusion. She begins to question him, but he cuts her off.

“I know I’m unacceptably late. I’m so, so sorry.” He leans in close like he’s going to kiss her cheek, but instead whispers to her, “I’m James – go with it, yeah? Whoever stood you up is an idiot.”

And for some reason, she does. This bloke is trying to save her from all the pity and sympathy that everyone in the whole restaurant is giving her, and he isn’t hard on the eyes, either.

He’s different from Jimmy The opposite, really. Even from the few moments she saw him standing, she can tell he’s got a good few inches on him. He’s got thick, wild brown hair. Where Jimmy is bulkily muscled and looks every inch the rock star he wants to be, James is lean and long like an academic, his spectacles perched on the bridge of his nose. A light dusting of freckles across his cheeks has Rose biting back a grin.

All in all, he’s one of the most gorgeous blokes Rose has ever set eyes on. So she goes along with it, of course she does. Who in their right mind wouldn’t?

“I’m Rose,” she breathes just as he leans away. He gives her a beautiful smile, all joy and bright white teeth. She’s returning it before she even knows what’s happening.

“Well, you could’ve at least texted,” she says with a glint in her eye.

“My phone died,” he shoots back, devastating grin still on his face.

“I suppose I’ll let you off – this time,” she finally concedes.

“I’ll make it up to you, I promise,” he assures.

They drop their voices down to a much more normal decibel, their little show proving successful.

“So, Rose, what brings you to Lancaster’s tonight?” he asks. His eyes are full of curiosity as he takes a long drink of water, Adam’s apple bobbing in his throat when he swallows.

“I had a date with some loser,” she responds after a moment. She’s not quite sure what to make of this man yet. He seems fit and friendly, but why would he swoop in and try to save a complete stranger from a bit of embarrassment?

“He just stood you up without a word?” he asks, incredulous. The idea seems preposterous to him.

Rose’s eyes drop down to the table, cheeks heating up.

“Yeah,” she says. “Not even a text. He was supposed to be here an hour and a half ago.”

She hadn’t meant to tell him all that. Something about him makes her want to tell him everything.

Somehow, she manages to lift her gaze and sneak a peek at his face. She’s surprised at what she finds there. There’s no pity. He clearly doesn’t think she’s pathetic for waiting so long for someone who clearly wasn’t going to show.

“Well, he’s the biggest loser on Earth,” he says decisively. Rose can’t help but laugh at the contempt in his voice.

“Yeah, you’re right,” she agrees.

“Do you usually save people from the embarrassment of being stood up, then?” Rose asks, changing the subject with a cheeky grin.

He lifts an eyebrow, looking up at her. “No, I can’t say I do. I just… It just felt right.”

Rose bites her lip, nodding. “Well, thank you. I was just about to do the walk of shame out of here when you sat down.”

“I’m very glad I got here in time, then,” he says. Rose blushes for a very different reason and looks down at her menu. In all her extra time here, she never actually decided what she was going to eat.

“What’s good here?” James asks, scanning the options again.

“Everything,” Rose says. “I’ve never had a single bad meal here. Best food in town. You’ve never been here before?”

“Oh, no. I’m not from around here,” he says with a small shake of his head. His hair bounces gently. Rose can’t help but want to touch it. It looks so soft.

“Well, a really safe bet is the burger. They have the best chips I’ve ever had.”

“I love chips,” he says. He’s very agreeable, this bloke.

“Burger it is,” he declares, shutting the menu with flourish. He slides his glasses off and puts them in the pocket of his jacket. “And for you?”

“I think I’m going with the burger too, actually. I’ve not had one in ages,” she says. Her stomach rumbles to emphasize just how starving she is, it seems. She didn’t even really realize before how hungry she is. Now that she knows though, it’s nearly painful.

“So, who are you?” Rose asks after a few beats of a natural, comfortable silence.

“I’m Doctor James Noble,” he says with a wide, proud smile. He ruffles his hair, distracting her momentarily again.

“Doctor?” Rose says, shocked. He seems terribly young to be a doctor.

“You think I’m too young to be a doctor,” he says, smirking.

“Well,” Rose mutters, shifting in her seat, worried she may have offended him.

“It’s okay, I get that a lot. Apparently I look a bit younger than I am. I’m 27. I’ve only just become a doctor, actually,” he says. That infectious smile is back, and Rose is incredibly grateful that she hasn’t managed to offended him.

“Like a medical doctor?” she asks. The scent of food around her is trying to distract her from the conversation, but she resists, giving him all her attention.

“Oh, no,” he says with a shake of his head. “I’m a professor of engineering.”

“Really? Whe –” Rose is cut off by Kathy sliding back up to their table.

“What can I get for you two tonight?” she asks, beaming at them.

“Oh! I’ll have a cheeseburger with chips, and just the water is fine,” he says, handing her the menu with a word of thanks.

“I’ll have the same, yeah,” Rose says, smiling at Kathy. She nods and is off again to put their orders in.

“Doctor James Noble,” Rose says, rolling the words around in her mouth. “It has a nice ring to it, I’ll give you that.”

“Thank you! All of my mates actually refuse to call me doctor. It’s entirely unfair.” He pouts. Dear god. How did she not notice that bottom lip before now? He has the fullest, most delicious bottom lip she has ever seen. She’s overcome with the urge to bite and suck on it (which is an inappropriate thought to have about a complete stranger, she knows).

“Well, I’ll call you Doctor all you like,” she promises. His eyes light up, and she knows she’s in trouble. She wants to see his eyes light up like that all the time.

“Really?” he asks, leaning toward her on his forearms in excitement.

“Of course,” she says with a nod.

“Thank you very much,” he whispers. He leans back in his chair, relaxing once again.

“So, I told you mine. You tell me yours?” He reaches up to tug nervously on his ear and if she’s honest, it’s almost too adorable to handle.

“I’m Rose Tyler,” she begins once she collects herself, “I study criminology part time.”

“Oh, yeah?” he says, genuine curiosity in his voice. “What’s your dream job, then?”

“I’d like to be a DI one day,” she says. He nods his head slowly.

“You’ll make a brilliant DI,” he says with such confidence she almost doesn’t question why he believes that. He doesn’t even know her; how could he possibly know she’d make a good DI? “What do you do with the rest of your time?”

“What?” she asks, not following him.

“You said you’re a part time student,” he clarifies.

“Oh, right! I’m a sales associate at H&M,” she says, finishing off yet another glass of water.

“Maybe I could pop by and have you help me out with my wardrobe then. I’m afraid I’m a little rubbish when it comes to clothing, and I really need to get some new suits,” he says, a slightly strange mix of sheepishness and hope in his tone. Rose flashes him another smile. Blimey, her cheeks are going to be aching from all this smiling.

“I’d love to, Doctor,” she says. He smiles so wide that she actually worries it’s hurting him.

“Thank you, Rose Tyler.”

She has to look away from his face after a moment. He’s like sunshine. She wants to bask in his warmth for as long as she possibly can. Unfortunately, she’s also had about four glasses of water and desperately needs to excuse herself.

“I’m afraid I need to go to the loo,” she says with a slightly awkward chuckle. “I’ve had about a thousand glasses of water tonight.”

“Oh! Of course,” he says, jumping up from his seat. Rose pushes her chair back and stands as well.

“I’ll be right back,” she promises. He gives her a nod and a smile as she walks away.

Once Rose is in the loo, she slides her phone out of her purse and sends a quick text to her roommate, Martha.

_Boy have I got something to tell you when I get home_

She smirks, putting her phone away and quickly finishing up in the bathroom.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Kathy returns soon with their food, fills their drinks, and leaves quickly once again.

Rose inhales, breathing in the aroma of the chips. The tang of vinegar and salt is familiar and comforting. She watches James’s face as he bites into his first chip. He grins over at her, clearly impressed that her claim of “best chips in the universe” reins true. He shoves more chips in his mouth, chewing slowly, the muscle in his jaw clearly visible as it works up and down.

“They’re amazing, right?” she says, delighted at his reaction.

“They’re alright,” he teases. When he takes his next bite, a small moan actually escapes his throat. He catches himself and coughs, grabbing his water and drinking half of it in one go. Rose pretends she can’t see the pink staining his cheeks.

They chat through their dinner, learning this and that about each other. She learns that he had actually wanted to be an astronaut when he was little. He was so obsessed with the stars that he actually earned the nickname “spaceman”.

She tells him about her irrational fear of mannequins, and how the ones at work creep her out to no end. He was adopted when he was young, just old enough to have vague memories of his birth family, but she doesn’t actually learn anything about his biological or adoptive family. While she does mention her mum back home in London, she thinks the story of her father’s death is a little heavy for a surprise date with a complete stranger, so she keeps that one to herself. Once they finish their meals, she notices a strange expression on James’s face.

“D’you want to maybe… get some pudding,” he offers, rubbing the back of his neck in an attempt at being casual. Rose grins, nodding. She isn’t eager for the night to end just yet, either.

“They have a great cheesecake here,” she says with a glint in her eye.

“I love a great cheesecake, me,” he says. She notices that, once again, they both seem to have drifted towards each other, the two of them both leaning across the table as far as the comfortably could from their seats. She clears her throat and leans back, breaking the spell. He seems to remember himself and follows her example. He runs a hand through his hair, which, honestly, should be illegal.

When Kathy comes back, they request two slices of cheesecake. Kathy gives them a wide smile and promises to return soon. Rose honestly isn’t sure why Kathy is so happy that James showed up, but she has to admit she’s sweet.

Soon they have their pudding, and James is moaning again when it touches his tongue. This time, they both blush, looking away from each other awkwardly. They focus on eating for the moment that it takes the awkwardness to melt away. Before they know it, they’re chatting like old friends again.

“What was young Rose’s dream job, then?” he asks, lifting an eyebrow.

“Well… I’ve honestly wanted to be a DI for as long as I can remember. I never really flirted around with being a firefighter or a princess or a vet like lots of kids.” She bites her lip, fighting her instinct to look away from his clever eyes. They see too much. He looks like he wants to question her further, but he holds back, giving her a nod and a little smile.

“I can imagine a young Rose playing DI, solving cases right and left. Defender of the playground,” he teases, winking at her. She laughs and rolls her eyes at him. He wasn’t wrong though. Not that she’d give him the satisfaction of telling him that.

That expression is back on his face when they finish their pudding. He opens and closes his mouth a few times, searching for the right thing to say.

“They’re about to close up, aren’t they?” he asks, a little sad. She nods. He reaches across the table to brush his fingers along her hand. She shivers, but doesn’t pull away. It’s a very, very pleasant feeling.

“As much as I’d love to order a glass of wine and sit here a while longer, we should probably go so they can clean up and get home,” Rose whispers. He nods, eyebrows furrowed. She can practically see the cogs turning in his head as he thinks.

“D’you think…” he begins, but drifts off, biting his bottom lip.

“Do I think what?” she encourages, leaning in towards him. He mirrors her posture, staring intensely into her eyes for a moment.

“Would you like to go out with me again? On a proper date that’s actually meant to be the two of us?” he asks. His fingers twitch against the tablecloth. She thinks he probably wants to tug his ear or rub his neck again. She smiles, her tongue peeking out between her teeth.

“I’d love that, yeah,” she says. He breathes out what sounds like a relieved sigh. She reaches across the table this time and he flips his hand, palm up and their fingertips brush together. She sucks a breath in through her nose, tugging her hand back just as quickly as she’d offered it up.

“I’ll give you my number and you can text me with the details?” she says. He nods, sliding his phone out of his pocket and handing it to her after unlocking it. She puts her number in and hands it back, biting back a huge smile. She is already anxious for his text.

“I suppose we should pay and get out of here,” he says. He glances down at his watch and his eyebrows shoot up. “It’s even later than I thought…”

“My roommate is probably going mad waiting on me to get home,” Rose realizes. She’ll have some apologies to make when she gets back.

“I’m sorry,” he says with a frown.

“No, that’s okay. She’ll understand,” Rose reassures him. His frown melts away, turning into an easy smile. Good. She doesn’t like to see him frown. His face is much more suited for huge smiles and laughter and happiness, she thinks.

They pay for their meal and make their way outside slowly, dragging their feet. Once they make it out, he walks her to her car. The car park is empty around them.

“I had a lovely time tonight,” he says, leaning against her car.

“Me too,” she says, biting her lip. She shifts her weight from one foot to the other. Something hangs in the air between them, but she isn’t positive what it is.

“Can I… would you mind if I kissed you?” he asks, hands shoved in his pockets. His request shocks her. Even more surprising than that though, is her immediate response.

“I’d like that,” she breathes. The corner of his mouth lifts. He takes a deep breath, stepping closer to her, and leans down slowly, giving her plenty of time and space to change her mind. She doesn’t. His warm lips meet hers in a soft kiss. Much softer than she’s used to. She kisses him back, leaning up on her toes to press a little harder against him. He smiles against her mouth and slowly pulls back, their lips parting with a tiny, satisfying sound, and her eyelids drift open. She doesn’t even remember closing them.

“I’ll see you soon?” It’s a question. Another chance for her to change her mind. Of course she doesn’t.

“Absolutely,” she says. He nods, and makes his way over to his car. She slides into her own car, turning it on and cranking up the heat. She only just realized how freezing it is outside. As she goes to put her car in gear, her phone lights up. She glances down and sees an unfamiliar number. He can’t have texted her already. Right? She doesn’t let herself hope that he has. She unlocks her phone with trembling fingers.

_How do you feel about mini-golf?_

_This is James, by the way._

A wide smile splits across her face.

_I love mini-golf._


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It’s finally here!! Thank you so much for waiting! I literally started this story like 2 weeks before going back to university, so things are a little crazy right now! I’d like to say a HUGE thank you to tenscupcake for betaing this and putting up with me -- you’re the best bae.

Martha is waiting up for her when she gets home. Rose can see the concern on her face as soon as she enters the flat.

“God, I sent you a thousand texts, Rose,” she says, standing up from the sofa. Rose motions for her to join her in the kitchen (which is basically the same room, separated only by the line dividing the sitting room carpet from the kitchen tiles). 

Rose bites her lip, contemplating where to begin as she fills the kettle and flicks it on.

“What happened tonight?” Martha asks while she grabs their favorite two mugs, setting them down on the counter near the kettle. She leans against the counter, looking Rose over with curiosity. 

“Well… I had a date with Jimmy tonight,” she begins. She gets two teabags out of the cupboard and drops them in the mugs, waiting on the kettle to boil. Once it does, she makes their tea and brings them over to the table. They sit down, Rose biting her lip again. She can feel Martha growing less patient by the second.

“And? Did he show up? Are you okay? You said you had a story to tell me, but it’s been _hours._ I expected you back ages ago.” Martha ignores the tea in front of her, focusing all of her attention on Rose. 

“He didn’t show,” Rose says, hiding behind her cuppa. She wasn’t quite sure how to explain what happened tonight without sounding a bit like a madwoman to her roommate. 

“Oh, I’m sorry, Rose,” Martha says, reaching across the table to grab Rose’s hand. She smiles at Martha, shaking her head.

“It’s okay,” she says, “really. Something… sort of strange happened tonight.”

Martha’s eyebrows pull together in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Well… just as I was about to get up and leave – an hour and a half after that wanker was meant to show up – this bloke sits down across from me. He starts talking about how sorry he is for being late. And, of course, I have no idea what he’s on about. I’ve never seen him before in my life! So he leans in, right, and tells me his name is James. ‘Go along with it,’ he says. And… I did,” Rose meets Martha’s eyes.

“So all night you’ve been on a date with a total stranger?” she asks, head tilted.

“Sort of, yeah,” Rose says. She sips at her tea, scalding her tongue while she’s at it.

“And… What was he like, this James?” Martha asks, both eyebrows raised.

“He’s a doctor, he teaches engineering.” Concern fills Martha’s face.

“He isn’t old though, he only just became a doctor. He’s 27,” Rose rushes to reassure her. Her face smooths out, but Rose can see lingering worry in her eyes. “He’s tall – taller than Jimmy by a few inches. Skinny. A beanpole, really. He’s got this amazing hair, Martha. And a bottom lip I could bite for days.”

Martha tries to hide a smirk behind her tea. No doubt, she’s thinking about how Rose has always had a thing for pretty boys; she loves to tease her about it. 

“And we just talked. For hours. We had dinner and dessert and when we finally looked at the clock, it was closing time already. That’s why I didn’t text you back, by the way, we just really didn’t notice the time passing.”

“Are you gonna see him again?” Martha asks. There’s still worry in her eyes, and Rose can’t quite figure out what’s causing it. The age difference? It isn’t that big, only about four years between the two of them. 

“Yeah, he asked me if I wanted to go out again. I think we’re gonna go mini-golfing on Friday,” Rose answers, suppressing a grin at the thought of his texts. 

“What about Jimmy, then?” she asks. 

“I’m done with him. I mean, even if I hadn’t met James tonight I’d be done with that wanker.”

Martha looks relieved. “Good. That’s really good. You should’ve been done with him ages ago, Rose.”

“I know,” Rose sighs. “It was just… I don’t know. Something about him. I kept on hoping that… but he never did. He never will. And I don’t ever want to see him again.”

“I’m so glad you finally got that prick’s hooks out of you,” Martha says with a soft smile. She finishes her tea and stands to put the mug in the sink. “We should continue this chat in the morning though, I’ve really got to be getting to bed. I’ve got to be up so early in the morning. I hope I don’t wake Mickey when I go in there…”

“I didn’t know Micks was over tonight,” Rose says, finishing her own mug and putting it in the sink.

“When isn’t he?” Martha asks with a laugh. Rose chuckles along with her.

“I’ll do all the washing up, you get to bed,” she says, already starting on the dishes. 

“I owe you,” Martha says. “Night, Rose.”

“Night!”

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

After she finishes the washing up, she takes a quick shower. It’s properly late by the time she gets out, she’s sure to be miserable in the morning. She climbs into bed and reaches for her charger. She notices a message from James when she plugs it in. 

_Sweet dreams, Rose Tyler._

_Night, Doctor,_ she types back, a wide grin across her face. She puts her phone on the nightstand beside her and drifts off to sleep. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

It’s far too early when her alarm goes off in the morning. She slaps at her bedside table until her hand finally lands on the phone. With a groan, she peeks one eye open and turns the alarm off. 

Rose rubs at her eyes as she sits up in bed, leaning heavily against the headboard. With a huge yawn, she slides out of bed, bare feet sinking into the cozy carpet. She’s grateful that her bedroom here is carpeted. The one back home had been hardwood and every fall and winter she nearly froze to death getting out of bed.

Shaking her head to get rid of the exhaustion that desperately clings to her, she opens her closet and picks a warm, comfortable outfit for the day. She pads over to her bathroom and gets ready. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

James is walking to work when he feels his phone buzz in his pocket. Brow furrowed, he fishes it out. He can’t help the wave of disappointment that crashes over him when he realizes it’s his sister, Donna, texting him. Well, he supposes he shouldn’t have expected a text from Rose so soon. 

He answers Donna’s text about having dinner together tonight and shoves his phone back in his pocket, continuing his walk.

His flat really is in the perfect spot, a ten minute walk from work. Shops and restaurants are all close enough that he can walk to them, too, and from what he hears, the university has a beautiful park with amazing ice cream. He thinks he’ll like Oxford just fine. 

When he makes it to the university, he heads for his office. He’s got a little while until his first class starts, so he goes over his notes again. He manages to get lost in them, and doesn’t realize until it’s almost too late that he needs to get to his classroom. Frantically, he slides his laptop into his bag, tucks his notebooks under his arm, and sprints to his room. He makes it with exactly one minute to spare, according to his watch.

“Good morning,” he exclaims, plugging his laptop in and setting up the projector as quickly as possible. “How was your weekend, then?”

His students respond with enthusiasm as he finishes setting up. This class in particular is his favorite. For an 8am class, they’re surprisingly chipper, and just about every one of them participates in their discussions. 

Just as he’s ready to begin his lecture, he feels his phone buzz in his pocket once more. He knows for sure it isn’t Donna; her vibration is three quick buzzes. No, this was definitely only two. His stomach swoops at the thought that it might be Rose who texted him. (Logically, he knows it could be anyone other than Donna or his granddad, since they are the only two people with custom vibrations. It could be another professor or any of his friends back in London asking how the semester is going. He can’t shake the hope that it’s her, though.) 

He spends the whole lecture partially distracted, his phone like lead in his pocket, begging to be checked. He can tell his students are surprised when he lets them go five minutes early. Usually, they’re discussing until the last possible second, but today he can’t take one more moment without checking his damn phone. As soon as the last student is out, his phone is out of his pocket. 

When the screen lights up, a huge grin blooms across his face and the tension in his shoulders releases.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

On Wednesday afternoon, Rose decides this is the longest week of her entire life. She’s never wanted Friday to arrive more. Not even when she was a kid waiting on her best friend’s slumber party. 

She and James have exchanged a few texts here and there since Sunday night. Every time his name flashes on her screen, she gets butterflies in her stomach. Not many, mind. Just one or two. 

Mickey smirks at her when her phone dings, regardless of who’s actually texting her. More than once she asks him why he’s never at his own flat. He just laughs, loving to push her buttons, same as when they were five years old. Martha usually tells him to stuff it, and if he knows what’s good for him, he listens. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Friday morning is finally here. Rose is awake before her alarm, unable to keep sleeping one more second. She suspects today will be the longest day of them all. Her phone lights up.

_We still on tonight?_

She can’t help but laugh at how ridiculous he is as she texts him back. 

_Of course._

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

James lets out a relieved breath when he reads her response. All week, he’s been a nervous wreck, expecting her cancel on him at any moment. 

With her confirmation, he sends her the details of the park that they’re meeting at, which is about half an hour away from his flat. 

_Can’t wait,_ she sends back. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

The day actually speeds by, contrary to what Rose expected. Before she knows it, she’s off work and on her way home, contemplating what to wear tonight when she meets James at the park. Something warm, obviously, since they’ll be outside. By the time she makes it home, she’s got her entire outfit planned. She rushes inside and grabs it, taking a quick shower before getting dressed. 

She’s in her favorite pair of jeans (that hug her bum perfectly), a simple black long sleeve shirt that clings invitingly to her torso (but is warm enough that she won’t freeze to death tonight). Her hair falls down her shoulders in soft curls. With five minutes to spare, she slips on a pair of boots and a coat. 

“I’m off,” she calls to Mickey and Martha, who are snuggled up on the sofa watching a film. She suspects they’ll be there all night. 

“Have a good time, Rose,” Mickey responds, shooting her a genuine smile. She rolls her eyes and thanks him, stepping out the door.

When she gets outside, she’s assaulted by a frigid blast of wind. She rushes to her car, rubbing her hands together. It’s colder than she expected, by a fair bit. The temperature must have dropped even lower in the hour it took her to get ready. She thinks she might have done well to bring some gloves, but it’s too late to run back inside now. 

She gets in the car and cranks the heat up full blast, willing it to warm immediately. To her surprise, it does, and it’s toasty in the little car much faster than normal. Maybe the universe is on her side today?

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

She makes it to the park at exactly seven o’clock. Just as she’s about to text him that she arrived, she spies his car about three down from hers. She grins, turns the car off, and hops out, locking it behind herself. She sees James look up from his cell phone when her car alarm beeps. He looks over toward the sound and sees her standing there. 

He shoves his phone in his pocket and gives her a small wave before getting out of his own car. He locks it and walks over to meet her, his warm smile never wavering. 

“Hello,” he says. His arms twitch like he isn’t quite sure what to do with them. She takes care of that, stepping closer and wrapping him in a quick hug.

“Hi,” she says, forcing herself to pull away from him. He’s so bloody warm; she could have stayed in his embrace all night.

“How was your week?” he asks, his breath visible in the air between them. 

“It was good, yeah,” she says, biting down on her bottom lip. “You?” 

“Brilliant,” he says with a nod. There’s a beat of silence. “It’s cold out, isn’t it?” 

“God, it’s so cold,” she says, laughing. He laughs along with her, shoulders shaking with mirth.

“Perhaps I could have picked a better place for our first real date,” he says, still laughing. She can see his ears and neck flushing, though, and rushes to reassure him.

“Nah, I think it’s brilliant. S’beautiful here,” she says as she looks around for the first time. She’s never actually been to this park during her three years at Oxford. She’d never really had much cause to play mini-golf, and there were so many parks around here that she must have overlooked this one. With its lake directly in the middle and its massive trees (which were all brown for the autumn now), it really is beautiful. 

“Yeah?” he says, eyes hopeful.

“Yes. Absolutely.” 

“Well, golf’s this way,” he says, gesturing toward the golf course that she can see from here. 

“Let’s go,” she says, genuinely excited to get this date properly started. She rubs her hands together again. 

“You’re shivering,” James mentions. She nods, unable to deny what he can obviously see. She can feel the nerves radiating off him, and she’s just about to ask why when he grabs her hand with one of his much larger ones. Almost instantly, she feels warmer. 

“Thanks,” she says, smiling at him. 

He clears his throat, giving her a jerky bob of his head. “Any time.” 

He rubs his thumb across her fingers, no doubt trying to warm her up quicker. The bottom of her stomach drops out and she takes in a sharp breath through her nose. He glances down as if to ask if she’s okay, but she just gives him a smile and holds his hand a little tighter. 

“We probably should have brought some gloves,” he comments with a grin. She shakes her head.

“I think we’ll be fine,” she says, licking her lips. 

He reaches his free hand up to ruffle his already wind-tossed hair, mussing it even further. Rose very much wants to ruffle his hair up. She hadn’t had the chance to touch it before he broke their first kiss last week. All week she’s been hoping for the opportunity to fix that. It just looks so damn _soft._

She shakes her head, clearing out all thoughts of his hair and kissing him. No need to get ahead of herself. 

They walk up to the little booth where they keep the balls and putters, and are greeted by a friendly-looking old lady.

“Just the two of you?” she asks with a smile. James nods, letting go of Rose’s hand to pull his wallet out. 

“Uh oh,” he mutters. She glances over at his eyes wide with panic. 

“James? What’s the matter?” she asks.

“I, err… forgot my wallet,” he says, cheeks flushed bright red. Rose laughs in relief, placing a hand on his arm to ease his anxiety. 

“It’s fine,” she says with a grin. “I’ve got it.” 

“God, I’m sorry,” he says. His whole neck is colored red by the time she finishes paying for their round and collecting their putters. 

“Cheap date, you are,” she teases, hoping to let him know it’s just fine. At her tone, he relaxes, one hand coming up to rub at the back of his neck. 

“Well, I’ll get the next one for sure,” he promises. The flush is slowly leaving his cheeks when she speaks again.

“Oh, there’s going to be a next one, then?” she asks, suppressing a grin.

“I – er – well I was just thinking,” he stammers, blush back in full force. She giggles, pressing her face against his shoulder. She grabs his hand again, smoothing her thumb along his index finger.

“Oh,” he breathes, relaxing. “You, Rose Tyler, are mean.” 

She just laughs again, tugging him toward the first hole. He follows her willingly. She can just hear a contented hum from the back of his throat. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

There are actually a few other people at the course ahead of them, so they have to wait for the first hole to be free for them. 

“You wouldn’t expect so many people out as cold as it is,” he muses. Their hands are still clasped between them. 

“Mini-golf is more popular here than I realized,” she agrees with a chuckle. She doesn’t much mind waiting to putt. She’s happy enough to stand with him, chatting about nothing. After a minute, though, she starts to properly shiver. 

“We really should have planned this better,” he says with a frown. He looks hesitant for a moment before he wraps her up in a warm hug. She sighs and burrows closer to him. 

“How could we have known the weather would take such a sharp turn?” she reasons, cheek pressed against his chest. 

“I suppose you’re right.” She can hear the smile in his voice. 

Soon the hole is free, and James insists on letting Rose go first.

“So chivalrous, Doctor,” she teases. Oh, God, she’d almost forgotten what his face looks like when she calls him that. She’ll have to start doing it more often.

“I think you just need me to show you how it’s done, though.”

He laughs, nodding. “I’m sure you could teach me a thing or two.”

There’s something in his voice that makes her blush. She spins around to hide it from him, lining up her putt and taking it. She actually gets a hole-in-one. 

“Ha!” she exclaims, twisting back around to see his face. 

“You’re really going to show me up,” he mutters, sounding displeased. 

“Hoping to impress me with your mini-golf skills, were you, Doctor?” 

“I’ll have you know I have very impressive putt putt skills,” he proclaims, walking over to her. That tone is back, along with a gleam in his eye that makes her shiver. He smirks, lining up his own shot and taking it. He gets it in two. 

He pouts the whole time they wait on the second hole. Every time she looks at his jutting bottom lip, she’s caught between wanting to laugh and wanting to suck on it. 

“D’you wanna go first this time?” she offers, biting her lip to keep from laughing. He mulls it over for a moment before agreeing. 

His face is the most serious she’s ever seen it as he lines up his shot. He mutters something about the maths of getting the ball to bounce perfectly off of the lion’s paw and shoot under the elephant’s trunk. She can’t believe she actually manages to not laugh. 

He swivels his hips, and suddenly the situation isn’t nearly as funny. She gets lost in the thought of how limber his hips seem. While she’s caught up in her dirty daydream, he takes his shot and makes it in one. 

James turns his head toward her, huge smile in place.

“Look at you go!” she exclaims, pulling him down for a hug. He laughs, delighted. No more pouting from him, it seems. 

“You’re a much better sport than I am,” he admits, tugging on his ear when they let go of each other. 

“Seems so,” she agrees. He laughs, leaning down to peck her cheek, warm breath puffing against her cheek. She bites down on her bottom lip as he pulls away.

From that moment on, they laugh and cheer each other on at each hole, celebrating regardless of how many attempts it takes them to make it. (Admittedly, their beginner’s luck runs out after the second hole, and they get progressively worse. It’s much more fun this way, though.)

“Are we even still keeping score?” James asks at the last hole. Rose laughs and shakes her head.

“I don’t think we have since the fourth one, actually,” she says.

“I think you’re right,” he agrees. They’d taken to cuddling for warmth every time they had to wait on the group in front of them to finish. His scent is honestly intoxicating, even after all the time they’ve been out here. 

He leans his cheek against the top of her head as they wait for the final person to finish up.

“Do you want to go round up some hot chocolate after we’re done here?” he asks out of the blue. She nods, feeling his face move along with hers.

“I’d like that.”

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“They have the best hot chocolate at this place near my flat,” Rose says after they hand their putters back over to the lady in the booth.

“Sounds perfect,” he says. They walk towards the car park, hands swinging between them lightly. She gives him directions to the little coffee house when they get to her car. They pause at her door, James’ eyes locked on her lips.

“I suppose… it’s too early for a goodnight kiss?” he says, hope in his eyes. She smiles, biting on her lips.

“Too early for a goodnight kiss… but not for a regular one,” she says, meeting his eyes. 

His lips are on hers in an instant, hands on her hips. He pulls her a little closer to him, their bodies pressing against each other. She doesn’t squander her opportunity this time. Her hands dive into his hair, fingers running along the silky strands. A little moan escapes her. It’s even nicer than she hoped. Hair like this should be illegal. 

His tongue runs along her bottom lip, begging for entry, which she readily grants. He runs his tongue along hers and she gasps against his mouth. She manages to suck his lip into her mouth and nibbles on it. He moans, pressing harder against her. A car door slamming behind them breaks the trance. 

He pulls away with a gasp, eyes wide. Their chests heave against each other.

“That was – ” he squeaks out. He pauses, clearing his throat, “yeah.” 

“Definitely,” she says. There’s a moment of silence before they both laugh, crystallized breath puffing between their faces, cheeks flushed from the cold.

“Let’s get to that chocolate,” he says, still smiling. 

“Yes,” she agrees. She unlocks her car and gets in, turning it on and blasting the heater. As much as she enjoyed snuggling up to him, it was still very cold all night. Her car soon warms up as she pulls out of the car park. James follows her to the coffee shop. She swears she sees him reach up and touch his lips when they’re at a traffic light.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“Do they have the little marshmallows?” he asks when they walk inside, the bell above the door jingling merrily above them. 

“Of course,” she promises. 

“Molto bene,” he says. He brings his hands up to his face, blowing on them to warm them up.

“Oh no,” he says just before they approach the counter.

“What’s wrong, Doctor?” she asks, reaching out to touch his arm.

“I’ve just realized you’ll have to pay for this as well,” he says, eyes anxious. Rose just gives him a reassuring smile. 

“It’s no problem,” she says. She turns to the barista and orders two hot chocolates, one with extra tiny marshmallows, and a couple of pastries. James beams at her. 

“Thank you very much,” he says. He leans down and kisses her cheek for the second time tonight. She blushes, assuring him once again that it’s not a big deal. When they call her name, he hops up from their table and grabs the drinks and pastries with a small word of thanks. 

“Here we are,” he says grandly, placing everything on the small table. 

“God, that smells good,” she moans, uncapping her hot chocolate and breathing it in. He hums his agreement, already digging in to one of the pastries. He uncaps his own drink and takes a sip, hissing as it scalds his tongue. 

“Well, give it a moment,” Rose says, laughing at him. He pouts, putting the cup down and picking his pastry back up. He takes another massive bite, nearly finishing the thing. Rose snorts and rolls her eyes at him. 

As they eat and drink, they talk, learning more about each other. He tells her stories from Cambridge, where he studied. Some of her favorite ones include a ridiculous American named Jack. Apparently Jack was back in America these days, doing some sort of police work there. James didn’t actually know much about it; it was all very secretive stuff. 

She tells him more about her mum and dad and little brother, and stories from her first three years at university. They keep each other in stitches, going back and forth with one story after the next. Very soon, it’s closing time for the little shop. 

“I suppose it’s time to head home,” he says with a sigh. She nods and they get up to throw their rubbish in the bin. 

“I had a lovely time tonight,” she says. They walk out to their cars, holding hands once again.

“Me too,” he says. They stop at his car this time, since it’s closer to the door. 

“That goodnight kiss is in order now, isn’t it?” she whispers, shifting her weight from one foot to the other.

“Of course,” he agrees quickly. They lean in, lips meeting in the middle. This kiss is soft, like the first one from last week. Their mouths mold against each other as they press harder. They both pull away soon, not wanting to get caught up again tonight. He rests his forehead against hers

“Can I see you again?” he whispers. She nods. He cups her cheek and presses his lips against hers once more. 

They pull away from each other. His hand goes to his pocket and digs his keys out. For the third time tonight, his eyes go wide with panic.

“I’ve been driving without my license all night,” he says. She laughs, leaning up on her tiptoes to kiss his cheek.

“Better be careful on the way home,” she teases. She walks over to her own car, unlocking it with the fob on her key ring. 

“G’night, Doctor,” she calls just before he closes his door. His eyes light up again.

“’Night, Rose Tyler.”

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Mickey is sleeping on the couch when she gets home. She shakes her head, walking over to shake him awake.

“Micks,” she whispers, “go to bed.” 

“Mmfph,” he groans, opening one bleary eye. “Oh. Rose. You’re ‘ome.” 

“Yes, I am. Go to bed, Mickey,” she whispers again. He nods, getting to his feet. He shuffles his way to Martha’s room, yawning the whole way. Rose grins, walking to her own room.

She gets dressed and collapses into bed, cocooned in her warm comforter. She grabs her phone and sends a quick text before she can drift off.

_Make it home okay, mr lawbreaker?_

Her eyes are drifting closed when it buzzes in her hand. 

_Sure did! No high speed chases for me. How do you feel about coming to my place next week? I’ll make you dinner_

She smiles as she texts him back. 

_Sounds lovely._


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry this took an actual year to get out!!! But I'm here now! I hope you guys are still with me! A huge thanks to tenscupcake for betaing and supporting me always! Ily bae.

“Rose, what are we doin’ for dinner tonight?” Mickey says, peering into their fridge for the millionth time in the last hour. “I was thinkin’ we could get a Chinese.”

“How many times do I have to say, Micks? I’m goin’ to James’s house for dinner tonight,” she reminds him. He sighs, shoulders sagging. “I don’t know what time I’ll even be home.”

“But Martha’s out of town! What am I gonna do?” he demands. He throws himself down on the sofa next to her. She laughs, shoving his shoulder with her own.

“I dunno, maybe go home? You have a flat, Mickey. Why don’t you pick up a Chinese, go home, and download a movie?” she suggests, shaking her head fondly.

“I mean… if you don’t want me around, all you gotta do is say,” Mickey says, a pathetic pout on his face that tugs at Rose’s heart.

“Mickey, you know you’re welcome here,” she reassures him. “I just thought you might enjoy it, is all! Get a Chinese and a movie and come back here with ‘em.”

“You staying the night at his?” Mickey asks, a sly grin overtaking his pout. Any chance to poke fun at her and James.

“No,” she says, rolling her eyes. “We’re just gonna have dinner. We’ve only known each other two weeks.”

“I wouldn’t judge you if you just happened to fall asleep over there,” he teases again.

“Shut up and go get some dinner,” Rose groans, getting up off the couch and walking towards her room. “I’ve gotta get dressed. James is expecting me over soon.”

Her phone dings in her pocket just as she finishes speaking, and Mickey laughs.

“That him, then? Tellin’ you to bring your overnight bag?” he calls. Rose laughs and shuts her door behind herself.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Rose fidgets with her makeup for what feels like the hundredth time. She fluffs her hair, checks that the curls are perfect again. Her phone lights up, James’s name appearing on the screen. The tight bundle of nerves in her stomach all but dissolves when she opens his text.

_I’m ready for you over here! You can head over whenever you like :D_

She thinks for a moment about teasing him, but decides against it. She’s ready to get this date started.

_Leaving now :)_

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

James paces around the kitchen, worrying over the food. He glances at the recipe book, reading the familiar handwriting, even though he has this one memorized. Has for ages.

He crouches down, peering into the oven critically. He nods to himself, satisfied with what he sees there, and opens the oven. The smell of the roast chicken warms the kitchen gradually, mingling with the already delicious scent of potatoes cooling on the counter. He puts it down next to them and steps back to admire his work.

This dish is very near and dear to his heart, but he’s honestly a bit worried it might be too simple for a second date. It’s probably more suited for a lazy Sunday lunch with your loved ones than for a second date with the first girl you’ve taken interest in for years. But it’s delicious and important to him and he can make it in his sleep, so that’ll be enough. Right?

For one insane moment, he considers trashing it all and texting Rose that he’ll be a bit later than he first said. She’s already on her way over, though. She’ll probably be here in a few minutes, so he takes a deep breath and steels himself. It’s going to be just fine. Rose is kind, she won’t be upset that the meal is simple. She likes him (hopefully) as much as he likes her. This will go well. The doorbell interrupts his internal pep talk, making him jump.

“Shit,” he mutters. He wipes his damp palms on his trousers and rolls his shoulders back as he attempts to force some courage into his demeanor. Everything is okay. He manages to lift one foot and place it in front of the other, slowly making his way towards the door. A nervous smile overtakes his face when he gets there and places a hand on the knob. When he opens the door, a fist almost knocks directly on his face. He jumps back, and Rose makes a small noise of surprise.

“Oh my God! I’m so sorry,” she exclaims, cheeks flaming red. Her hand comes down and clasps over her mouth in embarrassment.

James reaches up and feels his cheeks and forehead, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“Everything seems to be in order,” he jokes. “I suppose I’ll let it slide.”

Rose laughs, hand falling to her side. He sees an idea spark behind her eyes and she leans in closer to him, lifting her hand to caress one of his cheeks.

“No damage done, then,” she says, lifting a mischievous eyebrow. His brilliant retort dies in his throat as his entire brain is overtaken with the feeling of her skin on his.

With a start, he realizes they’re still standing in his doorway, the chill from outside slowly creeping in.

“Come in!” he says, perhaps a little too loudly, as it causes Rose to jump. He cringes at himself, stepping aside to let Rose in. She smiles when she steps over the doorway, and the jumble of nerves in his stomach eases the smallest bit.

“Your flat is _gorgeous,_ ” Rose gasps, taking in the open, spacious kitchen and dining room. He grins, looking around at the hardwood floors and granite countertops.

“Honestly, I still don’t know how I lucked into this place. It’s much, _much_ nicer than my one back home in London,” he admits. “There’s so much room! I dunno what to even do with all of it. Oh, you can take your shoes off if you like.”

“Yeah, thanks,” Rose says. She slips them off and leaves them by the door near his, then makes her way to the sitting room. It’s taken up by a large grey sofa, a fireplace, and a telly. On the whole, it’s fairly barren. “It’s a big place to live alone. A little empty.”

“As you settle in, you’ll fill it up, though,” she says assuredly. “With books and trinkets and memories… Hang on – did you say London?”

“Hmm?” he mutters, caught up in the way her fingers are trailing along his fireplace. “London? Oh, yes!”

“I didn’t know you were from London,” she says, sounding surprised.

“Did I never mention?” he asks, genuinely unsure. He could have sworn he said something when she told him she was from London.

“Nope, never,” she says, a teasing grin on her face. “Memory slipping up on you, Doctor?”

“Oi! I’m only four years older than you,” he grouses. He can’t help the warmth that blossoms in his chest (or across his cheeks) when she calls him that, though.

“Well, you’re the one who can’t remember what he’s said,” she retorts. He laughs, unable to disagree.

“Are you originally from London, then?” she asks after a moment, eyes trained resolutely on the fireplace instead of him.

“Originally?” he asks, confused.

“Yeah, y’know… your birth family and all,” she clarifies, still not looking at him.

_Oh._ Right, now he remembers why he hadn’t mentioned where he was from. He was avoiding this exact question. He clears his throat, wondering how he should respond.

“Er, no…” he says, “actually, I lived in Scotland when I was very young. With my birth family.”

“Oh,” she says, finally looking up to meet his eyes. She can’t, however, as his are now downcast towards the fireplace. She looks away quickly, and he can see the tension in her shoulders.

“I’m told by my sister and granddad that I had quite the little accent,” he offers, biting his bottom lip.

“Yeah?” she asks. She looks back up at him, a tentative smile taking some of the anxiety from her face.

“Mhm,” he says. “I don’t remember it at all. Don’t really believe it, if I’m honest.”

Rose laughs, walking a little closer to him. “Do you remember your mum and dad’s accents?”

He breaks their eye contact, taking a step back. “No. I’ve only got… very, very vague memories of any of them.”

“Right, sorry,” she says. When he looks at her, her eyes shoot away from his and he sighs, coming closer to her again.

“It’s okay,” he assures her. “It’s just… been a long time since I’ve talked about them. And I’ve never said a word about them to anyone but my mum and granddad and Donna.”

“I’m sorry,” she repeats, reaching up to cup his cheek. She hesitates just before her skin touches his, so he leans into her, sighing when they meet.

“I’m bloody starvin’,” she says suddenly, stroking his cheek one last time and stepping back. He’s very grateful for the change in subject.

His eyes flash open – when had he even closed them? – and he clears his throat, stepping around her to get in the kitchen.

“Of course! Can’t let the food get cold, can we?” He grabs plates from the cupboard with as much flourish as he can possibly manage, balancing them on one hand and grabs two wine glasses with the other (much more gently than he had the plates).

“Oh! D’you need any help?” Rose offers, rushing over with her hands in the air to catch anything he might drop.

“That’s alright! You just have a seat right there, Rose Tyler.” He gestures with his chin at the dining table, which already has candles and a bottle of wine on it. He wasn’t sure if the candles were too cheesy, but he figures Rose deserves them since he planned their last date so poorly.

Rose laughs and sits down at one end of the table, getting comfortable.

“Candles and wine and all,” she muses, grinning with her tongue between her teeth. His breath catches and stomach swoops every time she does that. It’s utterly unfair.

“Yes, well, I did sort of cheat you out of a proper date last week,” he says, neck flushing at the memory of their frigid date that he didn’t even pay for.

“I thought it was lovely,” she promises with sincerity that surprises him. He really had thought she was just being nice last week when she hadn’t mocked him for the terrible cock-up of an evening.

“You did?” he asks.

“Absolutely.”

He’s captivated by her smile for a moment too long, and she chuckles at him (probably at the idiotic expression he can feel on his face). He shakes his head and sets the plates and glasses down, returning to the kitchen to grab the chicken. He’d have gotten the potatoes at the same time, but he hasn’t got enough hands.

“One more trip, then,” he says, carefully bringing the hot dish over. “Oh, and the silverware…”

He hears Rose mutter something under her breath as she stands up from her seat. She walks to the adjacent kitchen, getting the rest of the food.

“Well… I suppose I could use a hand,” he says, sheepish. She laughs, bumping his hip with her own when they pass each other. He returns her laugh, getting the silverware quickly and returning to the table. Finally, he takes his seat across from her and uncorks the wine.

“I appreciate the chivalry, but I’d like to eat sometime tonight, is all,” she teases.

“All right, cheeky,” he says, holding out a hand for her glass. She giggles as she gives it to him. Their fingers brush together against the delicate glass, and a spark passes between them. He wants to touch her again. To brush their fingertips against each other. To kiss her pouty lips. To let his hands trail down her body, torturously slow.

“Doctor?” she asks, interrupting his filthy thoughts.

He blushes for the third time tonight, swallowing hard and filling her glass. He picks his own up then, and fills it, taking a sip in the hopes that it’ll take some of the awkwardness out of him. He isn’t sure what it is, really. He was fine on their other dates. Rose is always lovely, of course, but usually he can control himself around her. Maybe it’s the sight of her in his flat… his home… having dinner with him. The thought of what they might get up to after their meal. Nothing too racy, he’s sure. They haven’t known each other long enough for that, he thinks.

“You look lovely tonight,” he says quietly from behind his glass. He’s only just realized he never mentioned it. Rose’s dark jeans and deep red top complement her perfectly, and he feels like a bit of an arse for not saying so the moment he saw her.

“You don’t look so bad yourself,” she says, eyeing him appreciatively. “That color looks great on you.”

He preens and looks down at his clothes, a blue button down and khakis. “Oh, thank you!”

He takes the knife and cuts into the chicken, looking up to see if he’s cut enough for her. She nods with a grin and holds her plate up for him to fill. He does, moving next to the roasted potatoes and spoons a good portion on. He fills his own plate next and sits back, subtly waiting on her to take the first bite. Moment of truth. She begins with the chicken, and he can tell from her face when she bites in that it’s good. He breathes a sigh of relief, tucking in to his plate.

“This is gorgeous, did you really make this?” she asks. His chest puffs out a bit at the ecstasy in her voice and he nods.

“’Course I did!” he says.

“I had no idea you could properly cook,” she admits, a little sheepish. “I wasn’t sure how this was gonna go.”

“I’ll have you know I have _many_ hidden skills, Rose Tyler,” he boasts, lifting his chin. She blushes, taking another bite.

“I was a little worried…” he begins.

“About wha’? This is delicious, there’s no way you don’t know that,” she says, shaking her head.

“No, just that… I know it’s a little simple for a date. Roast chicken and potatoes.” He blushes, looking down at the table. He isn’t sure why he even brought it up, it’s perfectly clear that Rose doesn’t think badly of it.

“Oh, I don’t think so at all,” she says, giving her head a small shake. “It does sort of remind me though… Of Sunday lunch with my mum.”

James has a fraction of a moment to make his decision whether or not to tell Rose exactly where the recipe came from.

“It was my mother’s recipe,” he says before he can chicken out. His shoulders tense as the words leave his mouth; he’s sure he made the wrong decision.

“Your adoptive mother?” she asks gently. He shakes his head.

“It’s from her cookbook,” he continues, voice weak. He gestures to the well-worn book on his countertop near the stove. “This is… this is the only meal…”

She waits quietly, not pushing, though she reaches across the table and laces their fingers together. He squeezes her hand, finding his resolve.

“This is the only meal I ever remember eating with them. I actually have one… the most vivid memory of my entire life. Mum lifted me up to peer into the pan after she’d taken it out of the oven, cut a tiny piece of chicken, and gave it to me. That’s it. The whole memory.”

Rose’s eyes are shining, and he knows he needs to change the subject very, very quickly. She gives her hand one last squeeze and lets it go, digging back into his meal.

“Little heavy for a second date,” he jokes, breaking the mood and stuffing his mouth full of potatoes. Rose laughs, clearly sensing his need to move on.

“Much more suited for the third, wouldn’t you say?” she teases back. He laughs and nods, washing his massive bite down with a small sip of wine.

“Oh! I completely forgot to light the candles!” he says suddenly, jumping up. His chair topples precariously, almost falling completely over. Rose laughs.

“I didn’t even notice,” she admits, sipping her own wine as he rushes around the flat looking for a lighter or matches.

He exclaims loudly when his fingers brush against one on top of the fridge. Rose coughs and her fork clatters down on her plate in surprise.

“Sorry about that,” he says. Rose waves it off.

“Why was your lighter on top of your refrigerator?” she asks, brow furrowed.

“Your guess is probably as good as mine,” he says with a self-conscious laugh. Rose gives him that grin again – the one with her tongue between her teeth – and he damn near catches his arm on fire. He’ll have to ask her to refrain from it when he’s dealing with fire or knives or walking or talking.

“Anyway, here we are,” he mutters, lighting them and placing the lighter on the table near him.

“Oh, they smell good!” she says, shocked.

“Well, ‘course they do. What’s the point of a candle that doesn’t smell good?” he asks in confusion.

“I dunno,” she says, shrugging. “Looks? They always have ‘em at fancy restaurants.”

“Well, my flat is no fancy restaurant,” he promises. “Here we believe in candles that smell nice. And turning on the lights so we can see. And not playing music so that you can’t hear your date properly. And not kicking people out for laughing at jokes too loud. And – ”

“I’ve got you, Doctor,” Rose interrupts with a giggle. “I’m very happy we don’t do those things here. This is much, much nicer if you ask me.”

“Thank you,” he says, chin lifting in pride.

“How was your week, then?” she asks.

“Oh, it was alright. A bit slow. I had dinner with my sister one night. Been spending most of my time planning lessons, really. How about you?”

“My roommate’s been out of town,” she says, spearing a few more potatoes. “Visiting family. It’s her mum’s birthday. Normally that would make it pretty quiet around the flat, but her boyfriend has stayed over. He wanted to go with her, but he’s got work.”

“That’s Mickey, right?” he asks around a bite of chicken. Rose nods. “How’s that been?”

“Pretty good, honestly. I’ve known Micks my whole life. He’s fun to be around most of the time. Like a kid brother.”

“Does that mean he bugs you sometimes?” James asks, lifting an eyebrow. She laughs, nodding.

“Absolutely. He loves to tease. And today he kept asking what we were going to do for dinner even though I told him about a thousand times I was coming here.”

James smiles at the fond irritation in her voice. His own sister pulls much the same reactions out of him.

“When will Martha be back?” he asks.

“Day after tomorrow,” Rose says with a smile.

They chat idly about this and that, and he’s amazed again at the comfort between them. There aren’t many people he’s ever been able to connect with so quickly. It feels simultaneously like they’ve known each other forever and for only a couple short weeks. He could learn about her life and her family and her passions forever, he thinks.

After a while, he looks down at their plates and realizes with a start that they’re empty. When did that happen?

“D’you want any more?” he asks. He’s more than full himself, but if Rose isn’t he certainly wants her to have her fill.

“I’m stuffed, ta,” she says, pushing back from the table. She stands up and gathers her dishes, turning towards the kitchen.

“What do you think you’re doing?” he asks, standing to follow her.

“Cleaning,” she says simply, flicking the tap on.

“Wha – you are _not_ doing the washing up!” he exclaims, bumping her aside with his hip since his hands are full of dishes.

“Am so,” she says stubbornly. “You did all the cooking and setting up. I’m not lettin’ you do all the cleaning.”

She grabs the sponge and soaps it up, moving to wash her plate first. He snatches the sponge, splattering them both with soap.

“You paid for everything and froze to death on our last date,” he counters, scrubbing his plate before she can grab the sponge back. Rose rolls her eyes and laughs.

“You’re too stubborn for your own good,” she insists.

“You can talk,” he laughs. He hands her the plate after it’s soapy. “Here, you rinse?”

“Fair enough,” she says, smiling. They make quick work of the washing up, splashing each other with water and soap as they go. By the time they’re done, their forearms and chests are right messes. It’s only now that he thinks it might not have been the best idea to completely soak their tops, since Rose has literally no other clothes to wear.

“Let me get you a towel,” he says. He blushes at the sight of her top clinging even more now than it had been when she got here.

“Have you got a shirt I could borrow?” she asks hesitantly. “I’ll give it back before I leave.”

“Oh! Yeah, ‘course. I’ll just…” he trails off, pointing behind him towards his bedroom.

She nods and he turns around, walking down the small corridor to his room. When he gets in, he grabs two t-shirts and quickly unbuttons his own shirt, shucking it off into the hamper in his en suite. He pulls the t-shirt over his head, mussing his perfectly styled hair a bit. He doesn’t give himself much time to fuss with it; Rose is probably shivering in her wet shirt out there. He stumbles, tripping over his own feet at the thought of her in a soaking shirt, then again at the thought of her in his warm, dry t-shirt. He pauses, taking a moment to collect himself, lest he get out and fall flat on his face when he sees her again.

Taking a deep breath, he walks out into the corridor and manages not to trip again.

“Here you are, then!” He hands the shirt over, perhaps a little too aggressively, and steps back, unable to keep his cheeks from flushing. Rose laughs and looks expectantly at him.

“Is there… somewhere I could go to change?” she asks after a moment of him standing there like an idiot.

“OH! Of course! Sorry, right down there, last door on the right. You can just change right in my bedroom, I won’t come in. Or you can use the loo. If you like. It’s in there.” He bites down on his bottom lip hard to shut himself up, and kicks himself for completely losing his cool.

“Thanks, Doctor,” she says. She leans up on her tiptoes and kisses his cheek and all the anxiety leaves his body. He grins at her retreating back.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

She returns in a few minutes, dry once again.

“I hope you don’t mind I lit the fire while you were changing,” he says.

“That’s brilliant,” she says. “So… do you wanna watch some telly?”

“Right! Yes. That sounds fun,” he says, tilting his head toward the couch for her to make herself at home.

“Oh, this is one posh couch,” she says, sinking down into the cushions. He hums in agreement, sitting beside her and wrapping an arm around her shoulders. He feels her sigh against his neck, and he shivers, holding her closer.

“It came with the place,” he says, laying his cheek on top of her head.

“Mmm,” she says. He swears he hears her take a deep breath through her nose. “What?”

He giggles, shaking his head. “Nothing.”

She lifts her head to look at him, dislodging him from his very comfortable perch.

“Are you gonna turn on the telly?” she whispers with a smirk.

“Of course,” he answers just as softly. She leans up, hesitant. He swallows hard, meeting her halfway. Their lips press together in what must be the sweetest kiss they’ve ever shared. Something feels different about this one, but he can’t put his finger on what, exactly. 

She shifts up a bit more, making the angle less awkward. Her wonderfully deft fingers bury themselves in his hair, tugging on the strands gently. He holds back a groan and kisses her harder, their lips molding together in a way that steals his breath. He breaks the kiss, gently tilting her head up to press his lips all along her jaw. He feels her swallow against him, her breaths loud and harsh in his ear.

Rose grips his hair tighter, pulling his head back up to seal their lips together again. She nibbles on his bottom lip, and he’s very grateful that they’re finally sitting to do this, because his knees would have completely given out otherwise. He tugs on her hips a little, encouraging her to get on his lap if she would like to. She eagerly follows his suggestion, settling atop him fast enough to make his head spin.

It’s her turn to kiss along his jaw, nipping her way down to his throat where she sucks a little too roughly. He’s afraid he’ll have a mark before too long, so he cups her jaw and brings her face back up to his to look in her eyes. She grins sheepishly. He can’t help but notice the way her pupils are blown wide in lust. His probably look just the same, honestly. He crushes their lips back together in a bruising kiss, running his tongue along her bottom lip. A small noise escapes her throat and she grinds down on top of him. He groans, thrusting against her instinctively.

Rose rips their mouths apart, gasping for air. They rest their foreheads against each other, chests heaving.

“I should probably go home,” she whispers. His heart clenches, but he knows she’s right. It’s too soon for this. This is very, very new. And he hasn’t done anything like this in a long time.

But he’s definitely not ready for her to go yet.

He moves his head, bringing his lips to rest against the shell of her ear.

“Don’t go yet,” he whispers, still trying to catch his breath.

“Doctor, we can’t,” she begins, shaking her head.

“No, I know. Trust me, I’m not ready yet,” he promises, pulling back to look in her eyes. “I’m just not ready to say goodnight yet. I’ll make us some tea and actually put on the telly. Just stay a bit longer?”

“No messin’ about?” she asks, a grin creeping across her face. He puts a hand over his heart.

“No messing about,” he promises. She nods at that, pecking his lips once more before climbing off his lap.

“So,” he says, “how do you take your tea?”

“Why don’t I come help you?” she offers.

“Sounds perfect,” he says. They grin at each other and he stands up, offering her a hand to get up off the couch. Their fingers stay laced together the whole time they make their tea, inconvenient as it is.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“Ooh, let’s watch Friends!” Rose exclaims, bouncing on the couch next to him. He laughs, putting the remote down on the coffee table and settling back against the couch. He props his feet up on the table in front of them and Rose snuggles up against his side. He wraps an arm around her shoulders again, sipping at his scalding tea. He hisses as it burns his tongue and Rose mutters about taking two minutes so that you don’t lose all your taste buds.

They make it through a couple of episodes without incident, too worried about spilling hot tea on each other for any funny business. Once the tea is gone, however, so are the distractions from anything but each other.

Rose’s hand rubs circles against his chest, thoroughly distracting him from the telly. For a while, he thinks she doesn’t know what she’s even doing to him. Then she shifts closer to him, and her nails replace her flat palm, scratching gently through his shirt. He bites his lip, trying desperately to keep his head on his shoulders and not push her down on the couch and cover her body with his own.

She kisses his shoulder and breathes in his scent, moaning on the exhale. It breaks him. His fingers thread through her hair and bring her face up to his, their lips meeting in a hot kiss. Rose smiles against him, deepening the kiss. Their lips slide against each other for a few minutes before he feels the urge to tug her back on his lap. Rose pulls away again, biting and tugging his bottom lip as she goes.

“We can’t behave,” she says, an odd mixture of mischief and sadness in her eyes.

“No,” he agrees, gently carding his fingers through her hair. Her eyes close in contentment for a second before she remembers herself.

“I’ll go change back into my shirt,” she says, detangling herself from him and standing. He gets unsteadily to his feet after her, stretching his arms up above his head.

“Keep it,” he says, nodding at his shirt. It looks better on her than it ever had on him.

“Yeah?” she asks, tugging on the bottom hem of the large shirt. He nods again.

“You can bring it back next time we go out?” he says, eyes hopeful.

She laughs. “Sneaky. It’s a date.”

“Brilliant,” he breathes, leaning down to kiss her once more. “Let me walk you to your car.”

Rose gathers all her things, slips her shoes back on, and they walk outside. He’s got parking for two despite being the only person who lives in his flat. He’d always thought it wasteful, but it worked out quite nicely tonight.

“So have you got any ideas for our next night out?” she asks as they stand outside near her car. It’s properly freezing, their breath clouds the air between them.

“I’ve got a few working,” he hedges with a teasing smile. “If there’s something you want to do, though?”

“I might have a plan or two,” she teases back.

“I guess we’ll see,” he says. She hums and bounces on her toes.

“You’ll text me?”

“Of course.”

She leans up and kisses him one final time. He licks his lips when they part, wishing very much that she could come back up to his flat and stay the night.

“G’night,” he whispers.

“Night, James,” she says, getting in her car. He steps back as she starts it up, waving as she backs up. She waves back just before turning around to head home.

He goes inside and finishes picking up the leftover food. The flat feels much emptier now that he’s alone again. He extinguishes the fire and remembers what Rose had said about filling this place with books and trinkets and memories. When he looks over at their place at the couch and his chest is filled with warmth, he knows exactly what she had meant.

With that thought, the quiet of the flat seems more peaceful. He hums as he walks back to his room for a quick shower before bed. When he gets in the loo, he sees that Rose had forgotten her shirt in here. He picks it up and tosses it in the hamper for the next time he does laundry.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

When he lays his head down to get some sleep, his phone buzzes on his nightstand.

_I had a wonderful time tonight Doctor._

The smile that stretches across his face actually hurts his cheeks. He texts her back as soon as he collects himself.

_It was fantastic._


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Once again, I’m so sorry it took this long to get this chapter out!!! Thank you for sticking with me and this story :D A huge thanks to tenscupcake for looking this over and discussing and always being there for me. I couldn’t do what I do without you.

James walks into his kitchen, dropping his backpack on the island, and as he looks at the stove, his shoulders slump. It’s been the longest day he’s had in a while, and the thought of having to cook dinner tonight makes him want to go straight to bed. He slides his hand into his pocket, pulling his phone out to order some takeout and then take the hottest shower anyone has ever taken. Before he can do anything, though, it rings in his hand. His sister’s contact photo lights up his phone and he answers quickly. 

“Hey,” he says, nestling the phone between his shoulder and ear so he can grab his laptop out of his bag. He’ll just order something on it; there’s no telling how long this conversation could last and he’s starving. 

“Have you got any plans tonight?” she asks. He can’t help but smile. Straight to the point, that’s his sister. 

“No, I was just gonna order in and get a shower. Why?”

“Good! Why don’t you come over for dinner?” she offers. “Gramps is here.” 

He’s terribly tempted; the thought of a home-cooked meal makes his stomach growl. He really should have taken a moment for lunch today. 

“I dunno…” he hedges. As much as he wants to see his sister and grandfather, he isn’t sure – 

“Mum’s not here,” she says. He can hear the smile in her voice; she knows she’s got him. 

“Alright,” he says, closing his laptop. He laughs when he hears a whoop from his grandfather and Donna both. “I’ll be over in a bit, okay? I’ve got to take a shower.”

“Dinner’s in an hour,” she says just before hanging up. 

Walking towards his loo, his shoulders feel lighter already. Some time with his family will be good after a day like today.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

James hears familiar voices when he steps into the warmth of his sister’s house.

“When’s that brother of mine getting here?” 

“He’ll be here soon, just sit down.”

“Always late, that one,” Donna grumbles. He hears a chair scrape against the floor and assumes she took their grandfather’s advice. 

“I’m here, I’m here,” he calls, shucking his coat and hanging it up. 

“Told you,” their grandfather says, smug enough that it makes James chuckle. James reaches down to take his Chucks off and leaves them with the other shoes, finally stepping into the brightly lit dining room where his family is. 

“I am not late,” he insists, checking the time on his phone to be sure. “I’m five minutes early!” 

“Well,” Donna says, “first time for everything.” 

They laugh and he puts the wine down on the table before going in for a hug. She grips him tightly to her chest, just like she always does. 

“You could visit more,” she grumbles.

“I was here just last week! We had dinner and I told you about my date,” he reminds her. 

“Who says you can only come by once a week, then?” she asks. He shakes his head, giving her one last squeeze. 

“I’ll do my best,” he says. His grandfather stands up from his chair and stretches his arms out, and James gives him a tight hug.

“What are you doing in Oxford? I didn’t know you were visiting,” James says.

“Just wanted to come see my grandkids,” he says, shrugging. 

“And get away from your daughter,” Donna says with a snort. James laughs with his sister as their grandfather stutters for a moment. Finally, he laughs too.

“She is a bit much without you lot there to spread the …madness out to,” he defends himself when they settle down. James can’t help but agree; their mother’s unbridled attention is a lot. 

“Well, I’m glad you’re here,” he says. He walks over to the cabinet and grabs three glasses for them. Donna observes the wine, uncorking it.

“Ooh, you brought may favorite!” she exclaims. He nods with a laugh.

“I bought two different ones for Rose the other night,” he explains, “I thought she’d like the other better, so I saved this one for you.” 

“Who’s this Rose, then?” his grandfather asks. James goes quiet and busies himself taking the bottle from Donna and pouring wine into the glasses. 

“She a girl you met here?” he questions again. 

“She’s… er… well,” James clears his throat and looks up to his sister for help, only to see she’s near exploding from holding in laughter. He turns to his grandfather and sees the familiar twinkle in his eye that means he’s in on something he shouldn’t be.

“Donna!” James groans. “You told him.”

“Yep,” she answers his non-question.

“You and your gob,” he mutters. 

“Oi! It isn’t like you were ever gonna tell him. Just bring her home for Christmas one day without a word, I’m sure.” 

“I –” James stutters for a moment, turning to his grandfather. “I wouldn’t have done that, Gramps. It’s just… it’s early. We’ve only been seeing each other for a few weeks. I doubt she’s told her mother yet.”

“I know you wouldn’t have done that to me, James,” he says. James hands him his glass of wine with a small, grateful smile. 

“Would it kill you to call me every now and then, though?” he asks with a stern look. 

“I don’t know why you don’t just move out here with us, Gramps,” Donna says from the stove, turning away from the spaghetti to look at them. 

“Get away from Mum and see us all the time instead,” James adds with a nod. They’d been trying to convince him since they moved to Oxford together at the start of the year.

“Oh, you two don’t want me out here,” he insists. “You’ve got your lives here. I’ve got mine there. Besides, knowing your mum, she’d move right along side me if I did that, then I couldn’t even come visit you lot to get away.”

James and Donna exchange a look and their grandfather laughs at the horror on their faces. 

“I can’t leave London,” he says finally. “London is my home.”

“We won’t push you,” James promises, closing the conversation before his sister can insist any further. Donna sighs and nods, turning back to the stove. 

“You aren’t getting off that easy, son,” their grandfather says suddenly. James’s eyes go wide as he takes his seat across from the older man. 

“What do you mean?”

“Rose,” he reminds James, “tell me about her. All I could get out of Donna was that you were seeing a new girl called Rose.”

“I left all the good stuff out because I knew he’d be in soon,” she calls with a laugh. 

Though James sighs, he can’t help the tingle of excitement in his chest at the thought of talking about Rose. He’s only ever really talked about her to Donna, and he’s always been careful not to say too much.

He runs the tip of his pointer finger along the rim of the glass, staring into the deep red liquid to avoid they sparkling, curious eyes of his grandfather.

“She’s studying criminology part time,” he begins, fighting the dopey smile that is desperately trying to overtake his face. “Works at H&M the other part.”

“You should ask her for some help with that wardrobe of yours,” Donna says. 

“Oi,” James grouses, turning to glare at her. She grins back at him, and he rolls his eyes, but he’s unable to keep from returning it.

“Her mum lives in London, same as you,” he says, returning his attention to his grandfather. “She lives not far from here, and has one roommate, Martha. Martha dates Rose’s childhood best friend, Mickey, and she says he practically lives with them as well.” 

He finally looks into his eyes. “She’s brilliant, Gramps. Clever and witty and beautiful.”

“How’d you meet?” he asks, taking a small sip from his glass.

“I was having dinner at this little place in town one night, Lancaster’s, when I saw her. She was sitting alone at a table that was set for two. Every now and then she’d check her phone, and after about fifteen minutes, I couldn’t just sit there anymore. Everyone around was giving her these looks of pity. If a whole restaurant was looking at me that way… Anyway, I got up and walked over to her table, and told her how sorry I was for being late, loud enough for the whole restaurant to hear. I leaned in, told her my name, and asked her to go along with it. To be honest, I half thought she might tell me to piss off. But she didn’t. She went along with it, and we had dinner together. We stayed and talked until the place was closing. At the end of the night, I asked her out on a proper date, and we’ve gone out every week since then.” 

“Quite a romantic story to tell,” he remarks, that same glint in his eye. James hadn’t seen his grandfather look at him this way in a very long time. “She sounds lovely. When do your sister and I get to meet this English Rose, then?” 

As Donna groans at his terrible joke, James chokes on his sip of wine.

“Meet? It’s – it’s far too soon for that, I think,” he sputters. 

“He’s just worried we’ll embarrass him,” Donna says confidently. 

“That isn’t… all I’m worried about,” James admits. “I really do think it’s too early to be meeting each other’s families! It’s only been three weeks.”

“All right, it’s okay, son,” his granddad assures. James is sure he’s worried about spooking him from talking about Rose anymore with them. 

“It isn’t all right!” Donna says. “I’ve never seen a girl make him this way before, Gramps. He’s all doe-eyed all the time. It’s miserable.”

“I am _not_ doe-eyed!” James interrupts, cheeks heating up uncontrollably. Despite her words, he can hear the fond smile in her voice. He knows it makes her happy to see him finally with someone who’s good for him.

“I wanna meet the girl who can crack that exterior,” Donna finishes, ignoring her brother completely. 

“Donna, love, you’re only going to make him keep her away for longer talking like that,” their grandfather warns. Donna huffs, but doesn’t deny that he’s right.

“Either way, dinner’s ready. You boys can make your plates.” 

She gets her own food and sits at the head of the table, taking the glass that James offers her with a word of thanks. The boys get up and get their plates, wasting no time with getting back to the table and tucking in.

“No more Rose talk, then,” their grandfather says finally, eyeing Donna. 

“Good luck getting this one to button it about her,” Donna cracks, pointing at James with her fork. James can’t help but laugh with his family as they settle into a very familiar banter. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

James stares at the phone in his hand. The cursor blinks at him, and he almost feels like it’s mocking him. For the third time, he types out a message.

_Do you like parks?_

He closes his eyes and hits send (he hopes, he might have missed, eyes closed and all). After a second, he opens them and sees the little blue message has delivered. Okay. Good. That’s what he wanted. God, what if she thinks parks are stupid? What if her childhood dog ran away at a park and now the thought of them depresses her? What if – His phone buzzes in his hand.

_I love parks! Who doesn’t?_

He breathes out, shoulders relaxing. Of course she loves parks. Now that he thinks about it, their first date had technically been at a park. He had forgotten the mini golf course here was in a park.

_Feel like going on a picnic with me saturday? Don’t worry I checked the weather it’s going to be unseasonably warm._

_Sounds fun! :D I’ll bring the picnic since you cooked last time yeah?_

_Brilliant! Gimme a sec I’ll send you the address_

He googles the address and sends it to her. She replies with a smile and thumbs up, and the grin on his face hurts his cheeks.

He sits for a moment, basking in the joy of another date planned. After a second though, he panics and checks the weather one more time just to be certain. Yes. Clear, warm, and sunny. A true rarity for their home. Saturday can’t get here fast enough. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

James feels warmth radiating in his chest as he drifts to consciousness Saturday morning. His eyelids flutter open and he sees sunlight pouring into his room through the large window. He grins sleepily. The weatherman hadn’t let him down this time. For the last three days he’s been worrying that he’d wake up to a thunderstorm and they’d have to cancel their date. 

He rolls over onto his stomach and rests his head on crossed arms. Maybe he can catch just a little more sleep now. 

After about half a minute, his eyes pop open. Nope. He sighs and gets out of bed, padding over to the bathroom to get ready for the day. He’s extremely pleased to be able to put on jeans and a light long-sleeve shirt instead of the usual winter coat. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Around noon, James arrives at the park. As they suspected, there’s a massive amount of people here since it’s likely to be the only sunny day for ages. He turns off his car when his phone buzzes beside him.

_You here?_

_Yep! Meet me at the front?_

_You’ve got it_

He clambers out of his car and rushes to the front of the park. He glances around for her, trying his best not to look like a maniac. He hears a giggle behind him and a blush creeps up his neck. 

“Morning, Doctor,” a familiar voice says into his ear. He sucks in a breath and spins around, catching Rose up in a hug and lifting her off her feet.

“Morning,” he says. She giggles again, gripping his shoulders tightly. He sways back and forth a bit before placing her back down on her feet. 

“Good thing I put the picnic basket down before that,” she says, grinning up at him. Oh, he’s missed that look. How long has it been since they last saw each other? It seems longer than just a week, if he’s honest. 

“Right, that could have been disastrous,” he agrees. She picks the basket back up and he takes her free hand in his, lacing their fingers together. Something warm settles in his chest, but he doesn’t think on it. 

“Lots of people here, you were right,” he says. They begin walking without much aim, just looking for a space to settle in without too many people around. 

“Yeah,” she says, “we don’t get many days like this. Especially this time of year. S’okay though, this park is huge.”

“You been here before?” he asks, looking down at her. 

“No, but some of my mates have. Martha and Mickey told me all the best date spots,” she assures him with a sly smile. 

“Well,” he says, returning her look, “lead on.”

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

There’s a little alcove in the trees on the far side of the park. No one is around, everyone’s on the other side of the lake playing with their mates or getting ice cream. They lay their blanket out and settle in, sitting with their backs to the trees so they can see the lake. 

“S’beautiful, this place,” Rose whispers, taking in the lake and trees around them. James hums in the back of his throat, leaning back on his hands with his left settled just behind her back. They’re close enough to each other that he can feel the heat radiating off of her. 

“Imagine how it’d look in the summer when the trees and grass are all bright green,” he comments. She nods, looking over at him. Her eyes are dark and she bites her bottom lip, gaze locked on his lips. He clears his throat, sitting up. 

“So,” he says, perhaps too loudly, “let’s eat!” 

Rose blinks and shakes her head, eyes clearing. “Great idea! I’m famished.” 

He opens the basket and pulls out the sandwiches she’d made for them. She grabs the bottles of water and crisps, setting them down in front of them. 

“Now, I brought some other little nibbles and the crisps, but the really special treat, is this.” She pulls out two orders of chips that appear to still be steaming. 

“Are these –”

“Lancaster’s chips,” she says. She hands him his order and their warmth seeps into his fingers. 

“How’re they still so hot?” he asks, bewildered. He unwraps them and pops one into his mouth, groaning. He doesn’t know what they do to their chips at that place, but he thinks he could eat them for the rest of his life. 

“I went just before I came here,” she says, shrugging. “I was worried they’d still be stone cold by now, but it looks like today is our lucky day.”

James looks around at the beautiful park and back to Rose’s face. He takes everything in, her bright eyes, the way her hair is falling down across her forehead a little, the grin that hasn’t left her face since he first saw her today. 

“That it is.”

“Let’s dig in,” she says, unwrapping her own chips. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“Favorite color?” he asks, gazing up at the clouds above them. After they ate, they had moved out from the alcove just enough that their heads could peek out if they lay down on their backs.

“Hmm…” she ponders for a moment, “blue.”

He laughs, nodding. “That’s right. Again.”

“Mine?” she asks, nudging his shoulder with her own. 

He looks over at her, but she’s still looking up at the sky. “Pink?” 

“That’s right,” she says, turning her head to lock eyes with him. “How’d you know? I haven’t even worn pink around you. You’ve worn blue for two of our dates, though.”

“Well, to be completely fair,” he says, a little embarrassed, “you said you liked it last week.” 

Rose doesn’t laugh at him. She just bites her bottom lip and gazes into his eyes. 

“You didn’t answer my question,” she whispers.

“Oh,” he whispers back, “I dunno, really. It was a guess. You make me feel… pink, I think.” 

He closes his eyes tightly, and takes his hand away from her to cover his face. “That was stupid. I don’t even know what that means.”

She pries his hand away and laces their fingers back together with a little laugh. 

“It isn’t stupid.” 

“Favorite movie?” he asks once his cheeks cool back down.

“Oh, c’mon! How am I ever supposed to guess that?” she grouses. He laughs, squeezing her fingers.

“It’s a trick question anyway, I’ve never been able to pick one favorite.”

“Oi, it’s no fun if you’re gonna cheat,” she says, playfully pulling away from him. He goes right along with her, keeping the same amount of space between them (that is to say, none). 

“No more cheating, I promise,” he whispers into her ear. He feels her shudder as his breath brushes against her skin and a tiny thread inside him snaps. He kisses her just behind her ear and she gasps in a breath. He nips the spot he just kissed, then soothes it with his tongue. 

“Doctor,” she gasps, and he feels a growl building in his chest. He tamps it down; he’s got enough of his head left to know it’s far too intense for a date at the park. 

“Let’s move back into the trees again,” she suggests. 

“You’re brilliant,” he says. She laughs breathlessly and they make their way back into the trees, guarded from any wandering eyes that may come across them. She encourages him to sit up and pushes him so his back his flush against the tree behind him. Then, she straddles his lap and seals their lips together again. His hands fly to her hips, holding her tight against him. She bucks a little, and a strangled moan escapes him. Their lips mould together in a way he isn’t sure he’s ever experienced with anyone before Rose. His right hand creeps up from her hip, sliding slowly up her stomach. He stops just below her breast, waiting for her permission. She tugs his hair and nods through their kiss. He moans, cupping her breast over her shirt. Her nails dig into his scalp when his thumb brushes along her nipple. He breaks their kiss, panting as he looks up at her.

“Are you wearing a bra?” he asks, scandalized. 

“Of course I am! It’s just… thin,” she says with a blush. He grins and leans back up to connect their lips again. He brushes her nipple again and she grinds down against him. He moans, suddenly very aware of what this situation is doing to him. Rose notices too, it’s impossible that she wouldn’t. Instead of getting up and giving them both a moment to cool off though, she grinds against him again. 

He breaks the kiss once again, latching his lips on her neck and sucking instead. He gives just enough pressure that he thinks she might have a little mark just below her jaw. The thought makes his hips buck up against her and she moans, returning the pressure. He releases her skin with a pop.

“Rose,” he says, gasping for air, “If we don’t stop soon, I’m going to embarrass myself very much.” 

She stills, resting her forehead against the juncture of his neck and shoulder. “You’re right. We should stop.” 

“What if I come to your place next week again though?” she suggest, and he can feel her cheeks heat up against his skin. “I can bring some spare clothes.”

“I – are you ready for – for that?” he asks. He tilts her head up so he can look into her eyes.

“I am,” she says, looking straight at him. “If you are, I mean.”

“Yeah,” he clears his throat, “I am. I think I am.” 

“Friday?” she asks, biting her lip.

“Perfect,” he says, “Friday is perfect.” 

“Do you like _Harry Potter_?” he asks. She laughs, surprised. 

“Yeah, of course. Why?” 

“I was just thinking we might watch a couple when you come over,” he says. 

“Always got a plan,” she says, laughing again. “That sounds lovely.” 

“Brilliant,” he says. They grin at each other in what he can only assume is a disgusting manner before Rose speaks up again.

“What do you say we get some of that famous ice cream?”

“A good way to cool off,” he says, nodding. They pack up their picnic, which has been thoroughly picked through by now, and walk towards the ice cream stand. They’ve been here so long that most of the crowd has headed home, and the park is quiet. 

“Sun’ll be going down soon,” she comments. He hums, agreeing with her. “I didn’t even realize we’d been out here so long.”

“Me either,” he says. “Seems we have a bit of a habit for that.” She laughs, looping her arm through his and snuggling against him as they walk. As the sun drifts lower, the temperature is beginning to drop around them. Time to head home, he thinks. 

They make it to the vendor and he orders two cones for them, one pistachio and one chocolate. He pays for it, giving her a bewildered look when she laughs at the sight of his wallet. 

“What was so funny about that, then?” he asks. They sit down at a table not far from their cars to eat their ice cream.

“I was just surprised you remembered your wallet, that’s all,” she teases, licking the dripping cone. He laughs. 

“One time I forget it,” he says. “You’re never gonna let me live it down, are you?” 

“Probably not,” she admits, giggling. He reaches across the table to hold her hand once more. 

“When are we going to have a date at your flat, then?” he asks, lifting an eyebrow. 

“Whenever you’re ready to meet Martha and Mickey,” she answers. 

“Will they like me, do you think?” he asks curiously. She nods.

“I know they will. Martha will be lovely, she always is. Micks though… he’s another story. He’s been teasing me about you since Martha told him I was seeing someone. It’ll probably take a while for it to get old.” 

“I can handle a bit of teasing,” he assures her. “I’d love to see your place and meet your friends.”

“We can do it soon,” she says. “Not this weekend though, I’ve already got plans.”

“Well, lucky for me, I’ve got plans too,” he says cheekily. 

“Oh, do you?” she asks, grinning with her tongue peeking out. 

“Mhm,” he says, nodding. “I’ve got a date.”

“She’s a very lucky girl,” Rose teases. He shrugs.

“I dunno about that. I think I might be the lucky one.”

They look away from each other, blushing. James clears his throat and finishes off his ice cream. 

“You ready to go?” he asks, giving her fingers a squeeze. 

“No, but I think it’s time anyway.”

He nods and they stand up. He walks with her to her car. She swings their joined hands between them, and he mourns the thought of missing her warmth against his palm in just a few moments.

“Here we are,” she says. He sighs, leaning down to press a kiss to her forehead. 

“G’night, Rose,” he says. She leans up on her tiptoes and presses a soft kiss to his lips.

“Night, Doctor,” she says when they part. When she gets in and starts up her car, he walks to his own and gets in, turning the heater on low. It’s getting chilly again already.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

James showers when he gets home and settles into the couch to watch a movie. As the movie beings, he looks out the window beside him and wills it to be Friday already. He jumps a little when his phone buzzes on his thigh. He picks it up and quickly unlocks it to read the text.

_Is it Friday yet?_

He grins and texts back.

_Can’t get here fast enough._


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As usual, a MASSIVE thanks to tenscupcake! You keep me doing what I love. Also I'm very, VERY sorry for how long this has taken. It's unacceptable. University has kept me busy, and I'm so sorry!! I really hope you like this chapter! Let me know what you think!

Rose shuts her laptop with a heavy sigh, dropping her head down to her desk with a thud. This paper will be the death of her, she’s sure. It isn’t due until next week, but she really wants to get it done before Friday when she goes to James’s house. So she started today, Monday, hoping to work on it between classes and shifts at H&M. She gets up, resolved to get some dinner in her system so she’ll feel better about writing late into the night.

When she steps out of her room, Martha instantly catches the look on her face.

“Time to finally right that paper?” she asks, already grabbing two mugs. Rose nods and Martha ushers her towards the table and makes them each a cup of tea. “I’m just finishing up dinner. How does shepherd’s pie sound?”

“Lovely,” Rose says with a grateful smile, sipping at her steaming tea.

“Micks should be home soon. You know him, soon as dinner’s out the oven, he’s in the door,” Martha says, fussing with the oven. Usually it’s Rose or Mickey who cooks, Martha hardly has the time being in pre-med. When she does get the chance, though, her housemates never turn it down. “We’ll have a nice supper before you really buckle down and get into that paper.”

“I dunno what I’d do without you two,” Rose says. Martha rolls her eyes with a smile, turning the oven off and taking the pies out carefully. Right on time, they hear the front door open and Mickey clomp into the flat. 

“Something smells amazing,” he says, taking a deep breath. Rose and Martha laugh, and she can’t help but be thankful for her little family here. They talk and laugh and eat, filling Rose with a warmth that she sometimes misses being so far away from home. 

But soon enough, she has to get back to her paper, and Martha and Mickey have work of their own to get to. They all settle into the living room with laptops and notebooks and textbooks, working and complaining together. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“No, Mum, I’ve got a shift today. Yeah, we’ll Skype tomorrow, I promise. I know. I’m sorry,” Rose says. She sighs, telling her mother she loves her before hanging up. It’s been a while since they’ve had a chance to see each other, longer than normal, and Jackie is getting antsy. Rose quickly puts a reminder in her phone so she doesn’t accidentally make plans over her Skype date with her mum. With that done, she shoves her phone in her pocket and walks into the building to start her shift. 

As she’s rushing back to the staffroom to put her things away, she feels her phone buzz in her pocket. 

_You working today?_

She smiles though her brows furrow in confusion. She types back a quick reply, hoping he’ll answer before she’s officially on the clock.

 _Yep why? :)_

Her phone buzzes again within the minute.

_Just wondering : >_

Before she can answer him, her boss barks at her to get to work. 

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

A couple hours into her shift, she spots a familiar head of thick, unruly brown hair heading in her direction. Her heart skips a beat, pathetic as it is, when she catches sight of his face. He’s talking to one of her coworkers, but when he spots her, he gives Jen a charming smile and excuses himself. Rose can’t help but laugh at the dazed look on Jen’s face as she walks away.

“Now I see why you were just wondering,” she teases, tongue peeking out the corner of her mouth. He matches her grin and swoops her up in a giant hug. She buries her nose in his neck, breathing in the familiar scent of watermelon and something warm and woodsy. She never gets tired of it.

“You promised you’d help me pick some things out, remember?” he says as he sets her back down on her feet. She laughs, agreeing. They’d talked about it what feels like ages ago now, when they met on their fluke of a first date. 

“So, what are you looking for today, Doctor?” she asks, looping an arm through his and dragging him towards menswear. 

“Oh, a few ties, maybe a shirt or two?” he says, lifting an eyebrow at her. “Think you can help me out with that?”

“’Course I can,” she says confidently. “What do you need them for?”

“Y’know, teaching… office parties, stuff like that,” he says, glancing down at her. She wonders what exactly he was thinking that made the tips of his ears pink. She clears her throat before her imagination can run off, pulling him in the right direction.

“I’m sure I can help you with that,” she says, patting his arm with her free hand. “Have you got anything in particular coming up that you need something for?”

“Well, I’ve got the Christmas party coming up, I suppose, but it isn’t for a couple months.” He glances around at the racks, reaching out to brush his fingers against the colourful silks. Her head swirls with possibilities of all the things they could do with these ties. She clears her throat again, reining her thoughts back in. She really needs to get a hold of herself.

“What do you think about these?” she asks, pointing to a rack of pastel coloured ties. He shakes his head and she directs them to some darker silks. A dark brown one with navy and light blue stripes seems to catch his eye. Rose unlinks their arms to grab the tie. She hangs in on her own neck, turning to him to untie the one he has on. Slowly, she pulls it from his collar. He swallows hard, looking up at the ceiling to avoid eye contact (and exposing his neck). The two freckles she loves so much are on full display. 

She bites her bottom lip hard, taking the tie from her neck to loop it around his, lifting his collar. Her hands drag down his shoulders to the front of his chest, taking the two ends of the tie between her fingers. She ties it slowly, meticulously, keeping her eyes on her work. When it’s perfect, she smooths his collar down and finally looks up at him. She finds him staring intently down at her. It takes a split second for him to register that she’s looking at him, and he jumps a little in surprise. 

“Shall I?” he asks, a little too loudly, pointing at the mirror behind her. 

“Oh, right,” she says, stepping out of his way. He walks a few steps closer, observing his reflection. After a second, he hums approvingly.

“Yeah, it’s nice,” he says. He looks back at her for her opinion and she returns his nod with a smile.

“It looks great on you,” she says. 

“That’s that then,” he says, grinning. “Tie one found.” 

He undoes it himself and drapes it over his arm, and they step back to the racks, going through tie after tie, looking for the perfect ones. They bump shoulders and hips, easy conversation flowing between them.

“How about this?” he asks from across the isle. She turns to see him holding up a chocolate brown tie with little blue flowers all over it. 

“Flowers, huh?” she teases. He shrugs, holding it up against his neck for her to inspect. 

“It looks lovely, Doctor,” she says earnestly. He preens, back straightening. She rolls her eyes at him, laughing. “You ready to take a look at some shirts?”

He glances down at the small pile of ties on his arm, contemplating for a moment before saying yes. She extends her hand and he links their fingers, pulling her closer so that they’re pressed right up against each other. 

“You aren’t going to get in trouble for all this, are you?” he asks squeezing her hand to let her know exactly what he means. He looks around for signs of a peeved boss.

“I might, actually,” she admits, glancing around with him. He quickly unlinks their fingers, creating a few inches of space between their bodies. She misses the warmth of his side pressed against hers instantly. “Long as we act normal we should be fine, though.”

He relents, but doesn’t seem satisfied, looking around shiftily every few seconds, jumping at every noise. 

“You aren’t exactly being subtle, Doctor,” she whispers, poking his side. “If I didn’t know you, I’d think you were trying to lift something.”

He laughs, making a real attempt to relax his shoulders and look casual.

“Honestly, we’re fine. As long as we don’t, like, snog against the cologne display, I doubt anyone will suspect anything.” 

“Okay,” he says easily, rolling his shoulders. “I just don’t want you getting told off because of me.” 

“I can take care of myself,” she promises him. He grins sheepishly, bumping her shoulder with his. Finally, they arrive at the button-downs and set to finding him a couple. 

“You know, you don’t exactly need my help with this,” she says after a few moments of silence looking through racks.

“Hmm?” he murmurs, still looking in the mirror at the green shirt he has pressed against his front. 

“Well,” she says, walking over to inspect it for herself. The deep emerald looks good against his skin, she can’t deny. “You dress really well, to start. I doubt you need my opinions on what to buy. And… I’m sure you can afford to shop somewhere a little pricier than H&M.” 

Rose had seen his Armani and St. George ties herself, after all. She knows he doesn’t need to be shopping here. It isn’t that she doesn’t want him here, not at all. She’s just curious. 

“Maybe you’re right,” he admits, clearing his throat. “Maybe I just wanted the company.”

Rose bites her lip to keep from smiling like an idiot and tilts her head at his shirt, telling him she thinks he should buy this one for sure. 

“Yeah?” he asks, looking at himself again. “I never thought green was my colour.” 

“No, it looks good on you,” she promises. He smiles, draping the shirt over his arm without another word. 

“You could’ve got a basket, you know,” she says. She offers to take the ties from him and free up his full arm a bit. James laughs at himself, handing them over and shaking his arm out and rubbing it dramatically.

“That’s better,” he says, thanking her. 

“What do you think about that brown one?” she asks, pointing to a shirt on a rack opposite them. He hums, looking it over.

“I think I’ve got one just like it at home,” he admits. “You’ve got my tastes down, at least.”

Rose laughs, draping the ties he’d handed her around her neck to keep her arms free. She sees him lick his lips and look away from her quickly, and she can’t help but wonder what ran through his head. 

“How about this?” she asks, holding up a sky blue one. “I think we even picked out a tie that would look nice with it.” 

“Oh, I like that one,” he says. She tosses it over to him and he hangs it over his arm without even looking in the mirror. He catches sight of his watch and swears. “I promised my sister I’d be at her house ten minutes ago.”

“Oh no,” Rose says. “If you want, I can hold this stuff for you so you can get going.”

“Nah, I’ll just buy it now,” he says, already turning to walks towards the register. “Donna’s already going to have a go at me, may as well finish what we started here, yeah?”

Rose laughs, nodding. “I suppose so. I’ve gotta get back to my section, anyway. I’ll leave you to it.”

She hands him his ties and he stops, leaning down to press a kiss against her cheek before practically sprinting to the front of the store. She spends the rest of her day getting lost in her thoughts of the coming weekend.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

“Oh, it’s so good to see you, love.”

“It’s good to see you too, Mum.” Rose says, a wide smile spreading across her face. “How was your day?”

“You know, same old. Millie asked about you today,” she says, her pixelated face grinning brightly. “Told her how good you’re doin’ up there. Said she misses you, she did.”

“I miss everyone there too,” Rose says. “I think Millie just misses me babysitting for free, though.”

Rose and Jackie laugh together, and she suddenly realizes how much she’s missed her mum since she last saw her. It’s been over a month now. Rose promises herself not to let them go so long between calls in the future.

“When are you gonna visit?” Jackie asks, eyes pleading. Rose sighs, her shoulders sagging.

“I probably won’t get to until Christmas,” she says. Jackie squares her shoulders and puts on a brave face.

“Not so long. It’ll be here before we know it,” she says, nodding determinedly. Rose lets out a relieved breath. She always worries that her mum thinks she isn’t coming back home on purpose. She really isn’t, between work and school, she hardly has a chance to catch a train back to London. Really, though, Jackie has always been good about it. Better than Rose ever hoped. She knows her mum is proud of her for trying to make something of herself. 

“I can’t wait,” Rose says. Jackie smiles again.

“Now, tell me about your classes,” she demands, sitting forward to listen intently. 

“They’re really good,” Rose says enthusiastically, mirroring her mother’s posture. “My Religion and Crime class is definitely my favorite, even though we’ve got a massive paper due Monday.”

She goes into detail about all of her classes, telling her mum about professors and idiot students who think they have to make their opinions known and nice, quiet students that she’s made friends with. She tells her about the dreadful group project she’d just finished up. She had to do all the work, of course. Then she moves to work, telling her all about the awful people who yell at her and the nice old man who always slips her a tenner for helping him find just the right things for his wife. Jackie listens to every word, and asks questions about pretty much everything. 

“Oh, your voice has gone all weird, Mum,” Rose says, cringing at the sound. Jackie groans, reaching over to smack the Wi-Fi router. 

“You know the internet here, always going out on me,” she grumbles. She’d only gotten wireless since Rose had left for Uni, when Rose taught her about video chatting. She still doesn’t quite get that smacking the router around doesn’t do anything for signal.

“S’alright, you’re back to normal now,” she says. Her phone lights up beside her and she flinches hard, reaching over to turn it off before her mum can see.

“Who’s that, then?” Jackie asks. Rose sighs, caught.

“Just James,” she says casually, hoping she’ll drop it. She drops her phone on the desk beside her and pretends not to care about it.

“James?” she asks, arching an eyebrow.

“Yeah, I’ve told you about him,” Rose says confidently. At Jackie’s glare, she shrinks back. “Haven’t I?”

“I don’t think you have,” she says shrewdly. “Who is he?”

“Just this guy I met a little while back… We’ve been out a few times.” Rose chews on her thumbnail anxiously.

“Oh, that’s nice! How long?” 

“’Bout a month now,” she says. 

“A month?! You’ve been going out with someone for a month and haven’t told me?!” Jackie exclaims, looking like she might explode soon. This is exactly what Rose had been trying to avoid.

“Mum it isn’t like that! I’ve just been swamped with work and school, we haven’t even gotten to Skype since I met ‘im,” Rose tries to soothe her. Jackie huffs, but seems to calm down a little. 

“You could’ve told me over the phone,” she grumbles. Rose smiles.

“I’m sorry, Mum. I just figured you’d want to hear about it face to face.” Jackie purses her lips for a second before relaxing.

“You’re right,” she admits. “Why’d you try to hide ‘im from me just now?”

“Because I was afraid you’d overreact,” Rose says wryly. Jackie tries to keep a stern face, but breaks after a moment. They laugh again together until they’ve got tears in their eyes. 

“Well, tell me all about him,” Jackie says once they settle down. 

Rose takes a deep breath and starts at the beginning.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

She looks at the menu at Martha’s favorite deli, trying to decide what she wants for lunch. 

Martha laughs, shaking her head. “You always act like you aren’t gonna get exactly the same thing.”

“Oi,” she objects, putting the menu down to glare at her friend. “I’m gonna get something new this time.” 

“Uh huh,” Martha says, still chuckling. Rose playfully kicks at her leg under the table. They chat while she looks over the menu, reading the same few options over and over again.

Their usual server comes back with their drinks, setting them down.

“You ladies ready?” he asks, pen poised over his little tablet. 

Martha looks at Rose, arching an eyebrow. Sheepishly, Rose nods. Martha orders her usual and takes a sip of her drink while Jasper turns to Rose for her order.

“Turkey melt?” he asks with a grin. Rose nods, rolling her eyes at herself. “Coming right up.”

“You’ll get something new next time,” Martha says, sounding genuine. 

“Everything at this place is great,” Rose says. “I wanna try it all… but that melt is the best sandwich in this town.”

Martha nods. “I know. I always tell myself I’ll get something new next time, but I never do.”

“One day,” Rose says. 

“One day,” Martha agrees. “How’s your paper coming?”

“Oh, it’s almost done,” Rose says. “I’m gonna finish it up when we get back home, actually.”

“That’s good,” Martha says. “I know you were at it late last night.”

“Ugh, yeah,” she groans. “I’m exhausted today. I’ve just gonna finish editing it now, though. It’ll be ready to go so I don’t have to fuss with it this weekend.”

“Big plans this weekend, huh?” Martha teases, raising her eyebrows.

“You’re as bad as Mickey, you are,” Rose complains.

“That’s rude,” Martha says with a laugh. 

“It’s true! You’re both always riding me about James,” Rose says, looking up at the ceiling in exasperation. After a split second, she realizes what she said. She looks down sharply at her friend. “Don’t say it.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything!” she insists, though Rose sees the laughter behind her eyes. “You’re gonna tell me all about it when you get back home, right?” 

“’Course I am,” she says. Martha’s her best friend, there’s no way she’d be able to keep it all from her.

“Great,” Martha says, seeming satisfied. 

“Can we drop it now?” Rose pleads.

“I suppose so.”

Jasper is back with their food before they know it, placing it in front of them and dashing off just as quickly.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

Rose gets to James’s house as soon as she can after work Friday afternoon. He cooked her yet another delicious meal from his mum’s cookbook. They clean up the dishes together, trying hard to resist more splashing, and then they make their way to the living room. James turns down the lights and pops the first movie into the player.

Rose settles into the couch against his side. The room is dark and cool, the only light coming from the television they’re sat in front of. He wraps his arm around her and she turns her face into his shoulder, breathing in the scent of his woodsy cologne. He grabs the remote from his thigh, pointing it at the telly.

“You ready?” he asks. She nods against him and he presses play. The iconic music fills the room around them and Rose smiles widely and the nostalgia that rushes her. 

“I haven’t seen these in forever,” she admits. He tuts playfully. 

“Shame on you, Rose,” he says. They giggle, both giddy already. 

“I see you’re in one of the shirts we picked out,” she says, plucking at one of his buttons. It’s the gorgeous green one that she’d loved so much. 

“Oh, yeah,” he says, eyes on the telly in front of them. “Thought I’d give it a go. How’s it look on?” 

She smiles. “Well, I can’t see much in the dark, but I thought it looked lovely at dinner.” 

She feels his chest puff up with pride beneath her cheek and she wraps her arm around his middle, cuddling closer to him. 

“What house are you?” he asks, looking down at her. 

“Always thought of myself as a Gryffindor,” she says. She knows it’s the most boring answer, but she always connected with Gryffindor House most of all. “What about you?”

“Ravenclaw,” he answers, entirely confident. 

“I should’ve known,” she says with a grin. He laughs. 

“Am I that obvious?” he asks.

“Maybe a little bit,” she says. He shifts, angling his body so that he can look directly down in her eyes. She shivers at the heat she sees in there.

“I bet I’ve got a few surprises up my sleeve,” he says, licking his lush bottom lip.

“Oh yeah?” she asks, turning so that her back is against the arm of the couch. “Prove it.”

She isn’t sure what to expect from her goading, but he scoots forward slowly, giving her time to back up, just like always. When she doesn’t go anywhere (of course she doesn’t go anywhere), he closes the rest of the gap between them. One hand comes up to cup her jaw, tilting her head up just enough for him to reach her lips. Their lips slide against each other, and James shifts, moving even closer to her, as close as they can possibly be without lying down. 

Rose moans, encouraging him. His hand slides back from her jaw to tangle in her hair, holding her to him. Just as her lungs are beginning to burning from lack of air, he breaks the kiss with a smack. He tilts her head up, peppering kisses down the underside of her jaw. When he finds a place he particularly enjoys where her jaw meets her throat, he pauses. She bites her bottom lip hard when he sucks on the spot. He releases it after a moment, soothing it with his tongue. His mouth moves again, stopping on her pulse point this time. She can feel her heart fluttering against his lips and he chuckles, his breath brushing against her neck. She shivers again.

Her hands finally come up to join the party, diving into his thick hair. Her nails scrape against his scalp, just hard enough to get a reaction out of him, and he nips her throat lightly with his teeth.

“God,” she groans, tugging on his hair. He growls, coming up from her throat to reconnect their lips. The kiss is harder, messier than the first, or any other one they’ve shared, she thinks. She wiggles, trying to get him to slide further down the couch. He doesn’t pick up her hint, though; he just runs his tongue teasingly along her bottom lip. She almost forgets what she had been trying to do, her mind completely clouded with everything that is James. When the arm of the couch digs into her back again, she remembers. She breaks their kiss this time, panting. He rests his forehead against hers, gasping for breath right along with her.

“You okay?” he asks gently. She nods.

“Yeah, just,” she starts, scooting down a little further and hoping he’ll follow her example. She sees the light bulb go off in his head and can’t help but laugh. 

They both wriggle down the couch until they’re lying out flat, him on top of her. He braces himself on his forearms, but most of his weight rests on her and it lights a fire low in her belly. She’s very grateful that his couch is wide enough for them to comfortably lie on this way.

She slides her hands down his chest, fiddling with his top button. He nods when she looks up into his eyes for permission, and she begins unhooking his buttons as fast as her fingers can go. When his chest is bared to her, she scores her nails lightly down it. She revels in this shiver it pulls from him. 

Next, she finds her favorite blemish on his neck and runs her tongue over it. His hands clench into fists near her head and she takes it as encouragement to give him a mark of her own. She sucks on his neck, and his hips buck against her. She releases him with a wet pop and leans back to look at her handy work. There’s a beautiful light pink mark on his throat where her lips had been. She hopes that it’ll still be there in the morning. 

One of his hands is suddenly beneath her shirt, sliding up her stomach to cup her breast. His thumb and forefinger manage to find her nipple through her bra and he tweaks it, pulling a gasp from her. 

“This would be easier without your shirt,” he whispers, peppering kisses across her cheeks. She lets out a breathy chuckle and agrees. He sits up on his knees and helps her tug it off, dropping it on the floor beside them. 

James lies back out on top of her, dropping his head to kiss the tops of her breasts. She throws her head back and he takes the chance to descend on her neck again, nipping and biting and sucking his way down it. It leaves her head spinning. 

She tugs him back up to her and presses their lips together softly. They slide delicately against each other, noses brushing together as he changes the angle. He pulls back a tiny bit, eyes clenched tight and his forehead resting on hers again. 

“I haven’t felt this way in a very long time,” he whispers, so quiet she would have missed it if he were any further back. She caresses his cheek, brushing her lips against his without comment. 

After a moment of silence, Rose gets an idea. She pushes lightly on his chest, just enough to get his attention. His eyes open and look at her questioningly. Somehow, she manages to smoothly switch their positions so she’s straddling his hips. From this angle, she can feel him beginning to harden in his jeans. She grinds down against him, leaning down to kiss him again. Just as her hands are about to go down to his zip, her phone chimes. 

“Shit,” she whispers. “I thought I put it on silent…” 

“It’s fine, do you need to check it?” he asks, though his pupils are still blown wide with lust. She thinks for a moment before shaking her head. They can wait. He grins, hands on her hips and she’s about to get back to his zip when it chimes again. And again. She drops her head down to his chest, sighing. 

“I don’t think they’re gonna stop,” he says cheekily. 

“Just let me go put it on silent,” she says, climbing off him. He sits up watching her walk to the table to grab her phone. She checks the texts quickly and switches it to silent. “It’s just one of my friends worrying about our Crime and Religion paper. No big deal. I already finished mine.”

She’s walking back over to James when something seems to occur to him.

“You know,” he says, “I don’t think I’ve ever asked… Where do you study?”

“Oh, I think you’re right. I go to Oxford.” 

All the colour drains from his face in a mere second and Rose panics, walking quickly over to him. She sits next to him gently on the couch, reaching out to place a hand on his bicep. He flinches and she takes her hand back like she’d been burned.

“James… are you okay?” she asks, trying to look in his eyes.

“You,” he begins, choking on his words. He pauses and tries again. “You go to Oxford?”

“Yeah…” she says, more worried by the second. “Doctor, you look like you’re about to keel over. What’s wrong?”

“I’m a professor at Oxford, Rose,” he whispers, finally meeting her eyes. 

It crashes down on her like a tonne of bricks. Of course he teaches there, what had she thought? He lives minutes from the school. How could she have been so blind? How could he? What does this mean?

“I thought… I don’t know what I thought. That you studied online somewhere or – or – I dunno. I don’t think we can do this, Rose.” He looks down at the floor, biting his bottom lip. 

“What? Just like that?” she asks, brows furrowed. “You’re done with me?”

“Rose I don’t want,” he begins, still not looking at her. “We can both get into a lot of trouble here. Your degree. My job. Both gone just because you’re here with me like this.”

She knows he’s right. Of course he is. He could lose his job. And she can’t imagine giving up her place at school here. But the thought of cutting ties with him, it pulls at something in her chest. Twists it cruelly. After a moment, she sniffs and nods, head held high. 

“You’re right. This is your dream job. You can’t put that at risk for me.” 

“It isn’t just me,” he says, swallowing. “It’s you too. You could get kicked out of Oxford. You might not be able to get in anywhere else if that happens. You’d kiss your dream job goodbye too. I think you should go, Rose.”

She nods again, grabbing her shirt from the floor and tugging it over her head. James finds his own shirt and slides it on, buttoning it up while she finds her shoes and puts them on. When his buttons are done up, he rubs at the back of his neck, still not looking at her. Once she gets her bag and grabs her phone, he stands to walk with her to the door.

When they reach it, he opens his mouth, expression unreadable. With a sigh, he closes his mouth and opens the door for her. He swallows hard and meets her eyes one last time. 

She bites her lip, leaning up on her tiptoes to press a kiss to his cheek gently. She feels his breath ghost against her face just as she pulls away. With that, she walks out the door and doesn’t look back.

RTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRTRT

When Rose makes it home, she realizes she can’t remember the drive at all, too wrapped up in her thoughts to have been paying attention. She sits in the silence of her car, not looking forward to going in her flat and facing Martha and Mickey. Before long, their door opens and she can’t avoid it anymore. 

Mickey walks out to the car, confusion in his eyes. “Rose? I thought you were spending the night at James’s. What happened?” 

She shakes her head, not trusting her voice to be strong enough not to waver. Mickey doesn’t push any further; he just grabs her bag and nods toward the flat. Rose sighs, getting out of her car and walking up their front steps.

“Micks? Was that Rose’s car out front? Did she forget something?” Martha calls from what sounds like the bathroom. 

“Yeah, it was Rose,” he replies. He turns to Rose, handing her her bag. “Don’t worry about us. We’ll talk to you in the morning, yeah?”

She nods, already heading to her room. When she gets inside, she takes a moment to plug her phone in before going to take a long, hot shower. When she gets out, she dresses in a daze, pulling on her most comfortable pyjamas and climbing into bed. When her phone buzzes beside her, she nearly jumps out of her skin. Was it him? Did he regret their decision? Did he want her to come back and spend the weekend after all?

She grabs her phone cautiously, flipping it over. Her heart sinks when she sees the text from her mum asking about how her day was. She tosses her phone back on the nightstand without answering, squeezing her eyes shut tight. Before she can stop it, a tear rolls down her cheek. Then another. For a moment, she lets them fall and revels in the release it brings her.

Eventually, she manages to drift off to sleep. Her phone doesn’t make another sound all night.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> okay so... here's this story again! I literally cannot believe that I've written this... I know that it's literally been well over a year, and for that I am very sorry. I hope a few of you guys are still out there! I still love this story a whole lot. Huge thanks to Britt for encouraging me and for the amazing beta/putting up with all my annoying questions! This wouldn't exist without you.

James wakes up suddenly, head heavy and eyes swollen. He knows sometimes people talk about the moment of peace when they first wake up. Just a small moment where everything is right in the world before reality rushes back in, and the bad things along with it. 

That’s not how it is for James this morning. He remembers exactly what happened last night; not even allowed the smallest reprieve. He wonders whether it’s better this way: to have the memories rush in as soon as he wakes instead of having a few seconds of happiness before it’s ripped away. 

He dreamt of her all night. Strange, unsettling dreams of them on a beach, saying tearful goodbyes. Dreams of her fading away before his very eyes. Apparently, he can’t even have a moment of serenity when he’s unconscious. 

He sighs and sits up, rubbing his eyes. Then he swings his legs over the side of the bed and plants his feet on the cold hardwood floor. The shock of the cold against his bare skin wakes him up even more, and he finds that being more aware only means the ache radiates even further from his chest. He’s resolved not to think about anything remotely emotional today, and he’s already failing. He just can’t help the way _something_ claws at his heart. There seems to be moisture constantly welling up just beneath his eyelids. Her name beats a staccato in his chest, but he doesn’t let himself think the word.

After a moment of wallowing, he forces himself up off the bed. He attempts to put a spring in his step on his way to the loo but all he can really seem to get out of himself is a sluggish mope. When he gets there, he sees his phone sitting on the counter. He had left it there last night, hoping it would be easier for it to be out of earshot than having it right next to his head and not hearing it go off. In a way it had the opposite effect; he heard phantom buzzing all night, and almost got up more times than he could count to check it.

He stubbornly ignores the phone, looking at himself in the mirror instead. His eyes are visibly swollen, even a little bloodshot from not sleeping. His chest aches almost like he’d been tackled by a rugby player. He wonders how long it’ll hurt for. James is a numbers man, and sometimes it’s like he can feel every second ticking by in his veins. Right now is one of those times. _Tick, tick, tick._ How many ticks will pass before this feeling eases? 

They’d only been together for a month. _Just a month._ How could he possibly feel such a bone-deep ache for a woman he’s known for less time than the freshmen in his classes? Surely it won’t last that long, will it? Never mind the fact that she made him feel more alive than he ever had, that she’d chased away the darkness that shadowed his every step. He couldn’t feel that way about someone who he had only known for one little month. 

But that one little month had been so very important. 

He steadies himself, deciding not to check his phone until after he brushes his teeth. The process is comforting in a strange way. The repetitiveness of the strokes reminds him that not everything has changed overnight, and he brushes his teeth for longer than he really needs to. He tells himself it’s all in the name of hygiene, but he knows deep down that he just doesn’t want to check his phone. 

Finally, he can’t ignore it any longer. Someone else could be trying to get in touch with him, after all. He repeats over and over again to himself that there will be no text from _her_ saying that this was all a mistake, or that she actually studies somewhere else and it was all a joke. If anything, there might be a text from his sister, and he knows ignoring one of Donna’s messages has never gotten him anywhere good. 

When he flips his phone over, there are no text messages. He unlocks it and checks his email to find that he has one from Molly, one of his favorite students, requesting an emergency meeting about a project she’s working on. After a moment of thought, he types out an affirmative reply. If nothing else, a bit of work might distract him for a few hours. He takes care of everything he needs to in the loo and dresses in a daze, not really noticing or caring what he puts on. In fifteen minutes, he’s locking his flat and driving to the university. 

______________________________________

James pulls up to the university and parks his car. He takes a deep breath and looks hard at himself in the rear view mirror. He scrubs a hand down his face and tries to put on his usual grin. It’s feeble, but better than nothing. With one last breath, he gets out of the car and walks into the building. 

He passes a few coworkers along the way to his office and gives them each what he hopes is a bright smile. He even asks Doctor Padilla how her research is going. Talking about work is something that he’s always done to keep his mind off other matters. He finds that the five minutes or so talking with her lifts his spirits just a tiny bit, enough to fake the bounce in his step that he’s been failing at so miserably. 

After saying goodbye to Doctor Padilla, he walks the rest of the way to his office. When he gets there he sees Molly sitting in the chair next to his door. She’s typing on her phone with an incredibly focused expression on her face, and he can’t help the small smile that quirks at his lips. Molly is a model student, one of the most hardworking people he’s met at Oxford. The sound of his trainers against the tile floor alerts her to his presence, and she looks up. When she catches sight of him, she gives him a huge smile and quickly stashes her phone in her backpack. 

“Molly!” he says with all the enthusiasm he can possibly muster. “How are you today?”

“Hi, Doctor Noble,” she says, standing up and slinging her bag up onto her shoulder. “I’m good, how are you?”

He clears his throat, thrusting his hands into his pockets and rocking back on his heels. “Oh, you know… same old.”

He can feel how his face is pinched in distress just slightly, and he thinks Molly picks up on it from the way her brow furrows. He does his best to smooth his face and smile properly again. 

“So,” he says, gesturing towards the door with his head. “Shall we?”

“Oh, of course!” She steps to the side and brushes her hair behind her ears. “Thank you so much for meeting with me today, Doctor. I really hope I haven’t interrupted anything; I’m sure you have a life you’d rather be getting to.”

“Not at all,” he says, slipping the key into the knob and unlocking it with a deft twist of his wrist. “Just a… normal Saturday for me, you know? I’m happy to help.”

He pushes the door open and flicks the light switch on. As he walks in, he shrugs out of his coat and hangs it on the hook just inside the doorway. Then he gestures for Molly to take the seat opposite his desk and sits down himself. Molly sits and he can see the relief on her face that she hasn’t ruined his day by requesting this emergency meeting. 

“So, what can I help you with today, Ms. Marrowack?” he asks, buzzing the “z” sound and hitting the “ck” with a bit too much gusto. He grimaces and tries to pull it back to realistic levels instead of the bizarre, cartoonish ones he’s at now. He’s absolutely astonished at how much effort _normal_ takes today. He can’t believe it’s usually as natural as breathing. 

She gives him a funny look but seems to dismiss it quickly. “Well, it’s about the project that you set us last week…”

“The one that isn’t due for two months?” he asks, amused. She blushes and nods. 

“That’s the one. My girlfriend and I were discussing it last night, and I’m just not sure if I’m as prepared as I’d like to be. I also have some questions on how what you lectured on ties into it.”

James grabs his laptop out of his bag and puts it on his desk, opening the lid to wake it. He types in his password quickly and pulls up the lecture notes from last week to compare with Molly. They get into her project and spend the better part of an hour and a half talking through all her concerns and ideas. James points her in the direction of a few good resources that he knows she’ll take full advantage of and assures her that she has plenty of time to get everything done. 

“And again, if you have any more questions or concerns at all, you can email me or come to office hours. I’m always happy to help in any way I can. You’ve nothing to worry about, Molly. I’ve seen your work, and I know you’re going to do a brilliant job.”

“Thanks again, Doctor Noble,” she says, slipping everything into her bag. James stands as well and offers a hand for her to shake across his desk. She takes it, shaking firmly. “You know, I never pictured you for a flower guy.”

 

“I’m sorry?” he asks, confused.

“Roses specifically, it seems,” she says with a grin.

The air in his lungs freezes at the sound of her name. Everything stops. Just for a second, it’s as though the world stops turning. And even though it starts right back up again in a millisecond, the aftermath of the brief pause shakes his entire core. Everything feels like it’s been thrown to the side, it knocks him unsteady. He shakes his head, trying to clear his thoughts. Surely he’s imagining that sinister glint in her eye. _What? How on earth could she possibly know… WHAT?_

“The… the flowers,” she says, smile slipping from her face. He can feel the distress on his own face, but there’s nothing that can be done about it. “On your tie. The roses.”

“My –” he looks down to find that yes, there are indeed flowers on his tie. The kind that Molly said. This is the tie that he picked out with _her._ The one he picked _for_ her. To remind him of her when she wasn’t there, and to match her in the cheesiest way possible at office parties. In fact, he’s wearing one of the shirts she chose for him as well.

“Ah!” he says, a bit too loudly. It suddenly kicks in that he’s making a scene in front of one of his students and needs to defuse the situation. “Of course. I got dressed so quickly this morning that I didn’t even remember what I was wearing.”

He tries his best to chuckle, but it doesn’t sound right to his own ears. 

“I’m sorry, Doctor,” she says, guilt etched into her features. “I wasn’t trying to… I didn’t mean…”

“No, not at all Molly! I’m the one who should be sorry,” he says, laughing again. It sounds a little better this time. “Just got lost in thought, that’s all. You know me.”

She seems to relax at that, and he breathes a little easier. All he needs is a star student telling the Dean he’s done his nut in. “I’ll see you Monday, yes?”

“Yes, sir,” she says with a little salute. “Bright and early.”

He gives her his brightest smile, and she relaxes completely, returning it. For once in his life, he’s actually thankful for his absentminded nature. This is the only time it’s ever done him a favor. 

Molly backs out of his office, giving him one last wave before shutting the door behind herself. He waits half a second after the door clicks shut before clawing the tie away from his neck. Silk has never felt so much like a boa constrictor in his life. He gets it off and throws it into the corner of the room. After a moment of thought, he rips the shirt out from where it’s tucked into his trousers and unbuttons it, tossing it alongside the tie. 

He sits in just his t-shirt and trousers for the rest of the day. 

______________________________________

The first thing he does when he gets home is grab a backpack. He shoves the shirt and tie into it, and then marches into his closet. He grabs all the rest of the clothes they’d picked out together and puts them in. Of course, he isn’t going to throw them out – that would be incredibly wasteful. But he will donate them at the first opportunity. With all the clothes in the bag, he firmly zips it up and drops it in the furthest corner of his closet to be dealt with later 

After all that is done, he sits down on his couch and grabs his phone to order some food for delivery. He certainly doesn’t have it in himself to cook today. When the screen lights up though, he sees that he has a message from his sister. 

_How are things going this weekend ;)_

He sighs, knowing he can’t ignore her. Better to rip off the plaster. 

_They aren’t,_ he types. _Plans canceled. Forever._

It takes thirty seconds for his phone to buzz in his hand. 

_Gramps and I are on the way w food_

He tosses his phone to the side and sinks further down into the couch, waiting for his family to show up. 

______________________________________

“Alright,” Donna says, putting takeaway containers onto the counter and looking him dead in the eye. “What’s this business about your plans being canceled? What happened with Rose?”

He flinches at the sound of her name and busies himself getting a plate and piling it with food. His granddad passes him the silverware and keeps quiet, a concerned look in his eye. 

“Nothing happened with her,” he mutters after a minute. He looks down at his plate of food, but makes no move to actually eat any of it. “It’s just… not going to work out. It can’t. For either of us.”

“But, James,” His gramps says, speaking up for the first time since he got there, “you were… You really liked this girl. I hadn’t seen you so happy in… well, I don’t even know how long. You don’t give that kind of thing up for just nothing. So, what happened?” 

Moisture fills his eyes at his words, and he shakes his head to dispel it. 

“It’s…” he sighs, frustration mounting within him. He clears his throat, resolving himself to just rip off the plaster once more. “You remember how I told you she studies criminology?” 

He sees his grandfather nod out of the corner of his eye. “Well… it turns out she studies at my school. At Oxford.”

They’re silent, and he looks up to see them trying to work through it in their heads. 

“Well,” Donna says after a moment of thought, “of course she does. She lives _in_ Oxford. Where else would she study?” 

“Right, I thought you two had already figured that out,” his grandfather says. Both of them have expressions full of confusion. 

“I don’t know what we were thinking. We weren’t thinking. I just never… I liked her so much, I didn’t think about anything else. And now –” he breaks off, clenching his eyes shut to ward off another wave of moisture. 

“But you teach engineering,” his grandfather says, placing a hand on top of James’s. “It’s hardly like you’ll cross paths. Does it really matter if you’re technically at the same school?”

James gives a humorless laugh. “It does, Gramps. It doesn’t matter that she’ll never take one of my classes. There are rules in place… good rules to protect innocent people from getting taken advantage of. And one of those rules is no dating students. Full stop.”

“Oh, c’mon,” Donna says with a snort. “Who’d even know? You two never cross paths at school. You didn’t even know you were at the same one for a month! I don’t see any reason you two shouldn’t just keep right on. Sure, maybe you’d have to sneak around a little… couldn’t take her to the office Christmas party or anything. But no one would ever find out if you two were careful.”

“It isn’t possible,” he says firmly, giving them both a look. “This is my career at stake, and her entire future. If she gets kicked out of Oxford for sleeping with a teacher, she’ll never get accepted anywhere else. She’s worked her whole life for this. I won’t be the one to come in and mess it up in her last year. She deserves more. She deserves the future she’s creating for herself.” 

He hadn’t realized before just how much he needed to talk about it. How very passionately he feels about her getting the future she’s tried so hard make for herself. If he was somehow responsible for taking that away from her, he’d never forgive himself. 

Sure, he’s worried about his own job as well. He loves teaching; it’s his whole life. But James is no fool. He knows exactly how the story could be spun if it got out that the two of them were together. Him the brilliant, young, _male_ professor and her the female student. She’d likely be seen as a gold-digger, a girl from the Estate doing whatever it takes to get a leg up, when that couldn’t be further from the truth. 

As for himself, he’s young enough that he would likely not be viewed as a creepy predator. They’d probably say he couldn’t help himself with a beautiful woman like her throwing herself at him. The mere thought of it makes him sick. 

No. No matter how badly he wants it, they can’t see each other anymore, and that’s just the way things are.

“If you’re sure,” his grandfather says, sending Donna a cutting look. James hears her mouth click shut and is intensely grateful that he’s there with them tonight. He doesn’t think he could handle arguing with Donna about how he should just throw caution to the wind and call her up. Not when every cell in his body is singing for him to do just that. 

“Why don’t we just eat?” Donna says quietly. James and their gramps both nod, and they all tuck into their meals. James barely picks at his fried rice, but he can’t deny there’s something very comforting about having his two favorite family members in his big, empty kitchen with him. Their warmth and light fill the space and chase the darkness away just enough to keep it from swallowing him whole. 

He doesn’t let himself consider how very quiet and empty it will be once again when they go home. 

______________________________________

After dinner, the three of them move into his living room to watch a bit of telly and have a cuppa before his family’s departure. James sits in one of his armchairs and puts his sock-clad feet up on the coffee table. His family settles down into the couch and they all sip at their tea, not saying much. 

“You shouldn’t put your feet up on the table like that, you know,” Donna says, giving him a look. James actually laughs, sticking his tongue out at her.

“I’m a grown man and this is my flat,” he says. “I think I can put my feet up on my own coffee table. You sound like Mum.”

“You take that back!” Donna explodes, nearly spilling tea all over herself. Wilf and James both laugh, and he shakes his head. After a moment, she joins them.

They all settle back down to silence, and James feels the weight of everything slowly sinking into his chest, making itself at home as though it’s planning a long stay. 

“She hasn’t texted,” he whispers. The words are out of his mouth before he realizes he’s even thought them. Donna and Wilf both look shocked that he willingly brought her back up. 

“D’you want her to?” his grandfather asks gently, setting his cup of tea down. James removes his feet from the table, sitting up straighter.

“I don’t know,” he admits, voice still quiet. “I just… why hasn’t she texted?”

“Well, have you texted her?” Donna asks. 

“No,” he admits. He’s actually only looked at his phone four times since it all happened. 

“And are you the one who broke it off?” she follows up, arching an eyebrow just a little. He swallows, nodding. “Then why on earth do you think she’d text you the day after you broke up with her?”

“I didn’t – I don’t know,” he says, dropping his head back against the chair. “It’s just weird… my phone not going off at all today.” 

The two of them nod sympathetically. 

“I understand,” his sister says. She gets up from her spot on the couch and walks over to him. “Budge up.”

He groans but does as she asks and she settles into the chair beside him, wrapping an arm around his side. “D’you want to come stay at mine tonight?”

“No,” he says, letting himself relax against her a little. “I’ve got some work to get done tomorrow.”

“What if I stayed the night with you?” his grandfather offers, anxiety written clear across his face. James can’t deny that the thought of at least having his gramps here with him tonight makes the fist around his heart loosen its grip slightly.

“You don’t have to do that, Gramps,” he says instead.

“I know I don’t. But I want to. You’ve a nice place here and I never get to stay over anyway. I’d like to use that fancy shower of yours.” James greatly appreciates the attempt at lightheartedness, and he nods. 

“That’d be nice,” he says. 

“That’s settled, then,” Donna says, patting the back of his head. “Gramps is your responsibility tonight.”

“Oi!”

They all laugh once more, and James is more grateful than he thinks he’s ever been for these two people being here for him. 

______________________________________

James, of course, offers his bed up to his grandfather, but he refuses. So once Donna heads home, they set up a bed for him on the couch and his gramps takes a shower while James cleans up after dinner. After he is done in the loo, James goes in there to take care of his nightly routine. 

As he stands under the hot, pounding water of the shower, he tries very hard not to think about how the last time he was in here, he was imagining how he might finally get to share a shower with _her_ during their weekend together. All the fantasies he’d thought up blossom once again, and he tries to shove them back down. Before, they were lovely, hot and a little naughty, since he knew he’d soon get the chance to fulfill them. Now, though, they’re all tinged with… grey. Sadness clings to them, tarnishes them, and nearly brings him to his knees. He feels awful, even dirty for even thinking of them now. 

He turns the knob all the way to cold and roughly scrubs himself down, not allowing any thoughts other than whether he’s gotten behind his ears properly. After his shower, he dresses quickly into some comfortable sweatpants and a long sleeve t-shirt. 

He pads back out to the living room, not quite ready for bed yet. Not ready to face his dark, cold bedroom all alone again. He had put his phone in there to charge before his shower, and he’s once again not allowing himself to check it for the night. It’s pointless to check for messages that don’t exist, and he certainly isn’t going to send her any messages that might hurt her even more. 

His granddad smiles at him when he walks into the room and pats the couch cushion beside himself. James contemplates for a minute before giving in and sitting next to him. When he plops down and settles against his grandfather’s shoulder, it feels just like he’s ten years old again. 

“Why don’t we watch some telly before bed, huh?” his grandfather asks gently, already grabbing the remote. James nods, his eyes already growing heavy. He flicks on the telly and finds _Friends_ before sitting back once more. 

James takes a deep breath and lets his grandfather’s presence soothe him just like it has his entire life. His gramps has always been one of the few people who can calm the storm within him, ever since he was a boy. James doesn’t think he can ever thank him enough. Before he knows it, his head has drooped onto his grandfather’s shoulder and he’s sound asleep.


End file.
